Sentence 12

His sentence: And this is a question which I should like to ask of you, who have arrived at that time which the poets call the "threshold of old age": Is life harder toward the end, or what report do you give of it?


From Plato's Republic

The author begins the sentence with a conjunction and announces the upcoming question to a character "you," referred to in the following adjective clause that proceeds the colon. Then comes the question which juxtaposes two nonparallel dependent clauses.

My sentence: But, I wish to inquire of You, who hung the moon and the stars: How can you love me so, or where does this love end?

Sentence 11

His sentence: I was delighted with the procession of the inhabitants; but that of the Thraciams was equally, if not more, beautiful.


From Plato's Republic

Plato's compound sentence is separated by a semicolon and a conjunction. The phrase "if not more," which qualifies the adverb equally, is set off by commas and solidifies the speaker's opinion.

My sentence: I was happy that she escaped the accident unscathed; but the policeman was too forgiving, if not entirely remissive, of her crime.

Sentence 10

His sentence: When I walked the streets in Germany, I found it impossible not to carefully survey groups of people loitering near buildings, and I found myself scanning windows in the business district, watching for snipers.


From Dear John by Nicholas Sparks

Starting with a subordinate clause, and incorporating a participial phrase before the second independent clause set off by a conjunction, this sentence is compound-complex.

My sentence: As stare up into the golden leaves, I catch myself dreaming of snowflakes clinging to my windowpane, and I long for December to come.