EH 4317 -- SENTENCE COMBINING EXERCISES

Combine the sentences to create strong sentences.

1. Hercules was extremely strong. He was also brave. He was given twelve labors to complete. They were all horrendous.
2. Demeter was grieved and angry. Hades had kidnapped her daughter. He had taken Persephone to the underworld. There she would be his wife.
3. Icarus and his father, Daedalus, had to escape from an island, and so Daedalus made wings from gull feathers, and then he attached the wings to his son, and then he gave Icarus an important warning about their use.
4. The mice feared the cat. The cat always chased them. The mice held a meeting. They discussed how to make their lives safer.
5. Icarus loved the sensation of flight, and he ignored his father's warning, and he flew higher and higher, and then he felt the warmth of the sun.

Revising a Paragraph to Vary Sentence Length

The following paragraph has both choppy sentences and stringy sentences. Revise the paragraph to form sentences that vary in length.

King Midas loved riches. He thought gold was of great importance. The god Dionysus granted the king's wish, and it was for an unusual power, and it was called the golden touch because everything Midas touched would turn to gold, but unfortunately that included food, and it also included his daughter, so when Midas touched her she turned into a golden statue. Midas realized his mistake. It was based on greed. He felt sorrowful and foolish. He cried out to Dionysus. He no longer wanted the golden touch.