Determining Sentence Flow

1.  Determine the major building blocks:  subject, verb, direct object and/or indirect object (if either is present).  Any sentence must have a subject and a verb.  These are the backbone.  There may also be a direct object or an indirect object.  It may also be beneficial to make some sort of diagrammatic structure.  Following is an example:

"Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God" (Josh. 24:1  [NASV]).

This is an example of a compound sentence which is assembled with two independent clauses.  Let's wrestle with the first clause: "Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel . . . . "

Joshua                             gathered                                tribes

(subject)                (verb)                          (direct object)

Another example: "And they were seeking to seize Him and yet they feared the people, for they understood that He spoke the parable against them" (Mk. 12:12  [NASV]).  The two independent clauses have subjects, verbs, and direct objects:

they                       were seeking                      to seize               him

(subject)          (verb)              (direct object)             (indir. obj.)

they                 feared             people

(subject)          (verb)              (direct object) 

The two dependent clauses also have these building blocks.  (Remember that a clause must have a subject and verb to be a clause.)

they                 understood

(subject)          (verb)

he                    spoke             parable

(subject)          (verb)              (direct object) 

2.  Determine the subordinated parts of the sentence and their relationships:  phrases, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, etc.

"Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers."

Joshua                             gathered                                tribes

(subject)                (verb)                          (direct object)

                                                                              all  (adjective)

                                                                              the  (definite article)

of Israel (prepo-sitional phrase showing specifically which tribes)

                                          to Shechem

                              (prepositional phrase showing "where" they were gathered)

and  (coordinating and additive conjunction showing further action)

                                                called  (verb)

for elders  (indirect object of "called," prepositional phrase)

                                                                        the (a definite group of elders)

of Israel (prepositional phrase showing specifically which elders)

                                                            and (coordinating conjunction)

for heads  (indir. obj., prep. phrase, indicating a specific group within the elders)

            their (pronoun showing possession)                          

      and (conj., probably explanatory here; that is, the following two groups are probably added to explain and limit who the "heads" are, possibly better translated "even," or "that is.") 

                                                                        judges

                                                                                    their

                                                                        and

                                                                        officers

                                                                                    their

Note the diagrammatic structure.  As the elements move from LEFT to RIGHT, supporting elements are aligned at the corresponding level under those elements that they modify.  Joshua is the subject and there is no modifying element.  There are two parallel verbs, "gathered" and "called," made parallel by the conjunction "and."  Hence, they are aligned vertically.  "Tribes" is the direct object of the first verb, and its modifying elements "all," "the," and "of Israel" are aligned under it.  Any diagram which you might better understand is acceptable.  This arrangement is offered as a suggestion. 

Questions can be used as another way to investigate this sentence.  Who acted? Joshua.  What did he do?  He gathered and called.  Who did he gather?  Tribes.  How many tribes?  All.  Are these tribes further limited?  Did he gather all the tribes from around the world?  No, only all the tribes of Israel.  Where, or at what place, did he gather them?  To Shechem.  What else did he do?  He called.  Who did he call?  He called for the elders.  Which elders?  The elders of Israel.  Who among the elders was he also specifically interested in?  He was interested in their heads.  Who are some examples of their heads?  Their judges and their officers. 

3.  Determine coordination or other signs of structure between sentence parts:  two independent clauses with connective, conjunctions, particles, etc.

            Using our preceding example:

"Then Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel and for their heads and their judges and their officers; and they presented themselves before God" (Josh. 24:1  [NASV]).

The underlined "and" in the example above is a coordinating conjunction [See the earlier section on conjunctions.] and is used additively.  It shows an added action represented by the second independent clause.

 

Joshua            gathered

                                    and

                                    called

and

they                       presented

First, Joshua acted; then, the elders responded. 

Notice the temporal connective at the beginning of the sentence: "then." "Then Joshua gathered all the tribes . . . ."  This indicates to the reader that the actions represented within this particular sentence take place subsequent to, or after, the action(s) of the preceding verse.

Review the preceding discussions on connectives, conjunctives, and particles to gain and implement a better understanding of sentences and their structure.  Diagram that structure as shown to comprehend the flow and progression of the author.

 

4.  Note recurring words, phrases, ideas in the sentence, in paragraphs and larger sections.  Consider the following examples:

"Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision" (Phil. 3:2 [NASV]).

The recurring "beware" shows emphasis by Paul to convey the importance of his commands.  [Note, however, that this emphasis is fully lost in the NIV translation.]

Jesus employs the same technique in his sermon to the scribes and Pharisees (Mt. 23:13-36 [NASV]):

 13 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ...

 14 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ...

 15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, ...

 16 "Woe to you, blind guides, . . . .

 23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ...

 25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ...

 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ...

 29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! ...

Here is an example by Paul showing the recurrence of an idea in his first epistle to Timothy:

"... instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines, nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which give rise to mere speculation . . . . " (1 Ti. 1:3,4 [NASV]).

"... have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women"  (1 Ti. 4:7 [NASV]).

"O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, avoiding worldly and empty chatter and the opposing arguments of what is falsely called 'knowledge'" (1 Ti. 6:20 [NASV]).

Three times Paul warns Timothy to stay away from "foolish speculations."

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