We explain what juxtaposed sentences are, their characteristics and examples. Also, what are coordinated sentences.
What are juxtaposed sentences?
In grammar, juxtaposed sentences are a type of compound sentences, that is, sentences that integrate two or more simple sentences in a single expression. As their name implies, they are the result of a process of juxtaposition, that is, of overlapping two sentences without the need to use links for this, but only punctuation marks.
Juxtaposed sentences are made up of two parts, each corresponding to a different simple sentence, joined by an orthographic sign such as a comma, period (.), Semicolon (;) or colon (:).
Although they constitute the same syntactic unit, the sentences are different and differentiated, so they can be pronounced separately and have the same value. Intertwined or joined sentences are not considered.
By their nature, juxtapositions in language are not very precise and are handled with a certain margin of ambiguity. Especially in the spoken language, since punctuation marks allow greater certainty in what is written.
Examples of juxtaposed sentences
Some examples of juxtaposed sentences are:
- Antonio plays the guitar, Elena sings, Manuel keeps the beat.
- We were late, the movie had already started.
- They gave us an answer: we were not selected.
- The measures did not work: thousands were infected with the virus.
- Simón Bolívar, the Liberator, was a hero of South American independence.
- Maria won't come, I imagine.
- They did not give us time, the situation was very critical.
- It is worth going on foot; We are not that far.
- You can't leave yet; I'm not done with you yet
Coordinated sentences
Unlike juxtaposed sentences, coordinate sentences combine simple sentences using links of different kinds.
For example, the compound sentence "Pedro comes home and Maria goes out to the supermarket" connects two different sentences with the same syntactic value, through the nexus Y. In other cases, the links may vary and also introduce a disjunctive relationship (or), adversative (but, more) or of another nature.