Building Sentences With Adverb Clauses

Building Sentences With Adverb Clauses Here well practice building sentences with adverb clauses. Like an adjective clause, an adverb clause is always dependent on (or subordinate to) an independent clause. Like an ordinary adverb, an adverb clause usually modifies a verb, though it can also modify an adjective, an adverb, or even the rest of the sentence in which it appears. Adverb clauses show the relationship and relative importance of ideas in our sentences. From Coordination to Subordination Consider how we might combine these two sentences: The national speed limit was repealed.Road accidents have increased sharply. One option is to coordinate the two sentences: The national speed limit was repealed, and road accidents have increased sharply. Coordination with and allows us to connect the two main clauses, but it doesnt clearly identify the relationship between the ideas in those clauses. To clarify that relationship, we may choose to change the first main clause into an adverb clause: Since the national speed limit was repealed, road accidents have increased sharply. In this version the time relationship is emphasized. By changing the first word in the adverb clause (a word called a subordinating conjunction), we can establish a different relationshipone of cause: Because the national speed limit was repealed, road accidents have increased sharply. Notice that an adverb clause, like an adjective clause, contains its own subject and predicate, but it must be subordinated to a main clause to make sense. Common Subordinating Conjunctions An adverb clause begins with a subordinating conjunctionan adverb that connects the subordinate clause to the main clause. The subordinating conjunction may indicate a relationship of cause, concession, comparison, condition, place, or time. Heres a list of the common subordinating conjunctions: Cause asbecausein order thatsinceso thatExample:Im not a vegetarian because I love animals. Im a vegetarian because I hate plants.(A. Whitney Brown) Concession and Comparison althoughasas thougheven thoughjust asthoughwhereaswhileExamples:You will find that the State is the kind of organization which, though it does big things badly, does small things badly, too.(John Kenneth Galbraith)It is a waste of energy to be angry with a man who behaves badly, just as it is to be angry with a car that wont go.(Bertrand Russell) Condition even ififin caseprovided thatunlessExample:If you have ever lain awake at night and repeated one word over and over, thousands and millions and hundreds of thousands of millions of times, you know the disturbing mental state you can get into.(James Thurber) Place wherewhereverExample:Read over your compositions, and wherever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out.(Samuel Johnson) Time afteras soon asas long asbeforeoncestilltilluntilwhenwheneverwhileExample: As soon as you trust yourself, you will know how to live.(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)Practice in Building Sentences with Adverb Clauses These five short exercises in sentence combining will give you practice in developing sentences with adverb clauses. Follow the instructions that precede each set of sentences. After you have completed the exercise, compare your new sentences with the sample combinations on page two. Combine these two sentences by turning the second sentence into an adverb clause beginning with an appropriate subordinating conjunction of time:In a Junction City diner, a sunburned farmer comforts his squirming son.His wife sips coffee and recalls the high school prom.Combine these two sentences by turning the second sentence into an adverb clause beginning with an appropriate subordinating conjunction of place:Diane wants to live somewhere.The sun shines every day there.Combine these two sentences by turning the first sentence into an adverb clause beginning with an appropriate subordinating conjunction of concession or comparison:Work stops.Expenses run on.Combine these two sentences by turning the first sentence into an adverb clause beginning with an appropriate subordinating conjunction of condition:Youre on the right track.Youll get run over if you just sit there.Combine these two sentences by turning the first sentence into an adverb clause beginning with an appropriate subo rdinating conjunction of cause:Satchel Paige was black.He was not allowed to pitch in the major leagues until he was in his forties. After you have completed the exercise, compare your new sentences with the sample combinations below. Sample Combinations Here are sample answers to the exercise on page one:  Practice in Building Sentences with Adverb Clauses. In a Junction City diner, a sunburned farmer comforts his squirming son  while  his wife sips coffee and recalls the high school prom.(Richard Rhodes,  The Inland Ground)Diane wants to live  where  the sun shines every day. Even though  work stops, expenses run on. Even if  youre on the right track, youll get run over if you just sit there.(Will Rogers) Because  Satchel Paige was black, he was not allowed to pitch in the major leagues until he was in his forties.

These Shining Livesâ€A Play by Melanie Marnich

These Shining Lives- A Play by Melanie Marnich These Shining Lives revolves around  the real-life circumstances of women in the 1920s who worked in a watch factory painting watch faces  with glowing radium-rich paint. While the characters and company in These Shining Lives are fictitious, the story of the Radium Girls and the toxic and deadly levels of radium poisoning of over 4,000 factory workers is true. The real-life Radium Girls took their company to court and achieved a long-lasting victory over corporations with poor workplace conditions and worker’s compensation that is still in effect today. The Plot The women in These Shining Lives are delighted to find high-paying work in the early part of the century. They earn 8 ¢ for each watch face they paint and if they are fast enough and neat enough, they can earn over $8 a day. That kind of money could change the entire circumstances of a woman and her family in the 1920s. Catherine, also called Katie, is leaving home for her first day of work. She has twins and a loving and supportive husband. They are barely making ends meet and she sees the opportunity to work and bring home money as a huge boon to her family. At the factory, she meets her tablemates, Frances, Charlotte, and Pearl and learns how to paint the watches: Take the brush and twirl it between your lips to make a sharp point, dip it in the paint, and paint the numbers. â€Å"It’s a lip, dip, and paint routine,† Frances instructs her. When Catherine comments on how the paint glows and tastes, she is told that radium is medicinal and cures all kinds of maladies. She quickly becomes adept at the work and loves her new identity as a working woman. Six years later, however, she and every girl working on the watches have health problems. Many are fired for needing too many sick days. Some die. Catherine is afflicted with severe pains in her legs, arms, and jaw. Eventually, Catherine finds a doctor willing to tell her the truth. She and all the others have toxic levels of radium poisoning. Their condition is fatal. Instead of fading into the background, Catherine and her friends decide to risk their names, images, and reputations and take the watch company to court. Production Details Setting: Chicago and Ottowa, Illinois Time: 1920s and 1930s Cast Size: This play is written to accommodate 6 actors, but there are as many as 18 roles if the doubling recommended in the script is ignored. Male Characters: 2 (who also double as 7 other minor characters) Female Characters: 4 (who also double as 5 other minor characters) Characters that could be played by either males or females: 4 Roles Catherine Donohue is a proud working woman. She is vibrant and competitive. Although she insists that her job is a temporary one, she enjoys working outside of the home and she is unapologetic about it. Frances has a keen eye for scandal. She loves the time and attention she gets from her work companions. The actress playing Frances also plays Reporter 2 and an Official. Charlotte is a tough taskmaster and a determined woman. She works hard at her job, doesn’t make friends easily and she doesn’t let go of the friends she has made or let them give up. The actress playing Charlotte also plays Reporter 1. Pearl is a shameless gossip who sees her work as an opportunity to know everything about everyone. Not a single symptom of scandal or sickness escapes her notice. The actress playing Pearl also plays the Daughter and Judge 2. Tom Donohue is Catherine’s husband. He is head-over-heels for his wife and family even though he is somewhat troubled by having a working wife. The actor playing Tom also plays Dr. Rowantree and Dr. Dalitsch. Mr. Reed is the boss at the factory. It is clear that he has information about the effects of radium poisoning but he abides by company policy and does not inform his workers. He wants to make the factory profitable. Although he is invested in his workers and their lives and even considers them friends, he knowingly allows them to continue to be poisoned and sicken and die. The actor playing Mr. Reed also plays the Radio Announcer, the Company Doctor, the Son, Judge, and Leonard Grossman. Content Issues: Negligible Production rights for These Shining Lives are held by Dramatists Play Service, Inc.