and remain
with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope
that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I
hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an
affectionate farewell.

_Farewell Address at Springfield_, 1861

Kinds of Sentences. What kinds of sentences shall a speaker construct
as he speaks? That there is a difference between those a person
composes when he writes and those the same person is likely to evolve
when he speaks is realized by everyone. We hear that a speaker is
"booky," or conversational, that he is stilted or lively, that he is
too formal, that his discourse is dull and flat. To a great degree
these criticisms are based upon the sentence structure.

The Simple Sentence. The simple sentence contains only one subject and
one predicate. The complex sentence contains one independent clause
and at least one subordinate clause. The compound sentence contains
two or more independent clauses. It would be good advice to urge the
employment of the simple sentence were it not for the fact that a long
succession of sentences constructed exactly alike, making the same
impression of form and sound and length, is likely to produce a deadly
monotony of emphasis and pause, an impression of immaturity on the
part of the speaker and of lack of skill in molding his phrases. Yet,
in the main, the simple sentence is a valuable kind to know how to
deliver. Containing but a single thought it is likely to make a
definite impression upon a listener. It offers him not too much to
grasp. It leads him a single step along the way. It speaks clearly,
concisely. Its advantages follow from its qualities. At the beginning
of addresses it is especially efficient in leading the audience at the
same rate--slowly, it should be--as the speaker. In intricate
explanation, in close reasoning, in matters of paramount importance,
it should be employed.

Management of the short, simple sentence in written prose is
difficult. In spoken discourse, as well, it is so easy to fall into
the First Primer style that while the advantages of the use of the
simple sentence are great, the ability to produce good sentences in
succession must be developed.

The Complex Sentence. The complex sentence offers a good form for
introducing pertinent, minor details, which are necessary, yet which
do not merit inclusion in the general level of the speech. Aided by
proper pitch and inflection of the vo