Don't overcomplicate your English

By The English Farm on April 19 2021

Many meanings in a sentence is like many instruments on a musician—possible, but difficult.

As your English improves, you are able to make longer and longer sentences. But, should you? Consider this example: 

I went to the park which is near my house in order to play with my son who I took there as he is three years old and loves to go to the park on sunny days of which yesterday was one. 

While this sentence is actually correct, it's very hard to read. You would probably have to read it a few times in order to see where each part ends. Imagine if you were listening to this, would you enjoy hearing it? Probably not. 

Now, consider this example:

I went to the park near my house. Actually, I took my son there. He's three years old and loves to play outside. It was sunny and warm—perfect weather.  

It's so much easier to understand.

One way to communicate clearly is to use shorter sentences. So rather than adding too many connecting words, just end the sentence! Try saying both examples out loud. You will find that the bottom one is much easier to say, and it sounds more natural.

Think of it like the picture above. Putting a lot of information in a sentence is like a musician playing multiple instruments at once—each individual element gets lost in the jumble. It's better to let one sentence do one thing. 

As the authors of the famous English guide "Elements of Style" say, "Vigorous writing is concise." And, of course, speaking is the same.

grammar — typically a noun, but in the case of the title the word grammar is used as a verb. For more detail about the trend of "verbing" nouns, check out this article in The Economist
jumble [noun]—an untidy and confused mixture of things, feelings, or ideas.
concise [adjective]—short and clear, expressing what needs to be said without unnecessary words.