CBA Record January-February 2024

Object Objects are nouns that receive the action of verbs, instead of performing the action, as subjects usu ally do.

l The judge granted the motion.

A side tip for supervisors: Some of us learned to spot these terms by diagramming sentences. Although sentence diagramming is a useful tool, it has gone the way of cur sive writing. The Grammarly blog has a good post on sentence diagramming, complete with pictures [https:// www.grammarly.com/blog/sentence-diagramming]). In more complex sentences, finding the subject, verb, and object may be more challenging. l A building contractor [subject], after complying with a property owner’s request to make a signifi cant deviation from the plans previously agreed upon, may impose [verb] a reasonable additional charge [object] for the deviation. 2. Put the subject-verb-object close together. Once you learn to identify the subject, verb, and object parts of speech, move them close to each other, and put them at the beginning of the sentence. This will draw the reader into your narrative and make your sentence easier to understand. l A building contractor may impose a reasonable additional charge . 3. Move interrupting phrases to the end of the sentence or to another sentence. The SVO in the example above is the main idea of the sentence. The additional words modify the primary idea that a contractor may impose additional charges. Keep the SVO at the beginning and then follow with additional information in a separate sentence or at the end of the original sentence. l A building contractor may impose a reasonable additional charge for complying with a property owner’s request to make a significant deviation from the plans previously agreed upon. l Sometimes a property owner asks the building contractor to deviate significantly from the plans previously agreed upon. The building contractor may charge a reasonable amount extra for the deviation.

sentence. This becomes the long, introductory or “throat-clearing” phrase that lawyers favor. Such phrases delay the arrival of the sub ject, verb, and object and confuse the reader. l After complying with a property owner’s request to make a significant deviation from the plans previously agreed upon, a building contractor may impose a reasonable additional charge for the deviation. Why SVO and plain language make your writing better Why does following SVO sentence construction improve your writing? It works because “English is a word-order language where position in a sentence determines function, and there fore, meaning,” according to Australian scholar Edwin Tanner. “In declarative sentences (i.e., statements) …. subject and verb are the essential components of a sentence and, to maximise comprehensibility, they should occur in that order without interruption.” Legal writing experts recommend following SVO construc tion in a variety of areas. In briefs, people find SVO structure best for persuasive storytelling. Scholars also recommend declarative sentences with SVO construction when drafting contracts. Such sentences are easier to understand, especially in international transactions with non-native English speakers. Other scholars recommend SVO for judicial opinions, to make them more accessible to the public.

Overall, following SVO construction most of the time is another way to make your reader’s job easier.

Avoid moving too much interrupting language to the front of the

Civility in Civil Practice Rules Update | Good Faith Findings| When to Involve the Court when Parties are Uncivil February 27, 2024 | 2:30-4:30 p.m. | Live Webcast or In-person at CBA Building | 2 IL PR-MCLE Credit $0 CLE-Advantage Plan | $65 Member | 125 Nonmember | Register at Learn.ChicagoBar.org

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