Glossary-C


Cliches are trite phrases that have been used together so often that they have become commonplace and ineffective.

Example of a cliche:

green with envy


Colloquial English is conversational English&endash;&endash;the type of language that you use among friends and family.


A comma splice occurs when two or more independent clauses are joined together with a comma.

Example of a comma splice:

Los Angeles is a city in Southern California, it is the most populous city on the West Coast.

 


A complex sentence has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

Example of a complex sentence:

When we visited Paris last year, we did not see the Eiffel Tower.


A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses generally combined with a comma and coordinating conjunction.

Example of a compound sentence:

The students studied for the exam yesterday, and they took it this morning.


A compound/complex sentence has two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

Example of a compound/complex sentence:

When we visited Paris last year, we did not see the Eiffel Tower, but we enjoyed our trip.


A conclusion should reaffirm the thesis statement and support the ideas presented in the body paragraphs of a paper.


A couplet is a two-line stanza that generally rhymes.

Example of a couplet:

The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind? (Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ode to the West Wind, verses 69-70).