Analyzing Comparison and Causal Structures in English
Expression of Comparison, Cause, and Consequence
Comparison
Comparison involves expressing the relationship between two or more different realities, often through comparative subordinate clauses.
- Example: “The letter is so valuable an invention as the wheel.”
Expressions of Cause
The cause of an event is often expressed through a noun phrase introduced by a preposition or prepositional phrase, or through causal subordinate clauses.
- Example (Prepositional Phrase): “I was shocked by what I read.”
- Example (Causal Subordinate Clause): “I was shocked because I had read.”
- Example (Incorrect structure/Note): “I was shocked because I’d read was bad” (This structure is less standard for simple cause).
Expressions of Consequence
The consequence of a fact is expressed through consecutive clauses, often introduced by prepositions or correlative structures.
- Example: “I was angry, so I should complain.”
- Example: “So much outrage that I claim I produce.”
Prepositional Phrases
Prepositional phrases are structures consisting of a set of words that function as a single unit, often equivalent to a preposition (e.g., to outside, a trail of, in order, as a result of). As prepositions, they can act as links connecting different clauses.
- Example: “I was very happy because of your visit” (Equivalent to: “Me was delighted by your visit.”).
Selection of Comparisons
Comparisons establish a relationship of equality, superiority, or inferiority between an element in the main clause and one in the subordinate clause.
Types of Comparisons
- Equality: “It is as important as any other subject.”
- Superiority: “Clutter bothers him more than anything else.”
- Inferiority: “It was less to his brother.”
Comparisons are often introduced by correlative formulas such as so…as, as well…as, or more/less…than. The second element often serves as the link.
- Example: “Many bugs are found indoors and out.”
- Example: “The city has more traffic than ever.”
The comparison may also use synthetic comparatives (e.g., greater, smaller, better, worse).
- Example: “The glass needs more care than the rock.”
- Example: “Some of the birds flying is worse than others.”
Omission of Elements
In comparative structures, some elements already expressed in the main clause are often omitted.
- Example: “There are better facilities at this school than in that (school).”
Note on Parsing: When analyzing these sentences, you must mentally replace the missing words in the subject (e.g., More + Adjective = Adjective; Plus + Noun = Adjective).
Causal Connectors in Sequence
Causal and Consecutive Links
Both causal and consecutive sentences can be introduced into a compound sentence using various links (conjunctions, conjunctive phrases, prepositions, and prepositional phrases).
Causal Subordinate Clauses
Causal subordinate clauses indicate the cause of the views expressed by the predicate. They often follow the main clause but can sometimes precede it.
- Example (Following): “It’s an interesting journey because you meet many new people.”
- Example (Preceding): “As I never left the house, I knew the city.”
Consecutive Subordinate Clauses
Consecutive subordinate clauses show the result or consequence of the statement in the predicate.
The causal and consecutive relationships are closely linked and can often be substituted for each other by varying the sentence structure:
- Causal to Consecutive: “We missed the train because we left home late” $\rightarrow$ “We left home late, so we missed the train.”
- Consecutive to Causal: “The train arrived late; therefore, we had to wait” $\rightarrow$ “We had to wait because the train was late.”
When analyzing, consider which clause (cause or consequence) contains the link; that clause will be the subject of the analysis regarding the link type.
Consecutive vs. Comparative Structures
Confusion often arises between consecutive sentences introduced by correlative formulas and comparative clauses using so…as.
Distinguishing Links
- Comparative (Equality): “The results are not as good as you said.”
- Consecutive (Result): “The results are so good that I’m happy.”
To avoid confusion, pay close attention to the specific links that introduce the clauses.