I'm working on analyzing some of my old writing and I'm having trouble breaking up this sentence. It's poorly written which doesn't help but I'm supposed to analyze it regardless: "This does not include the time it takes for her to get ready in the morning or the time required for vehicle maintenance." This is what I have so far: Subjects: This, it Verbs: does include, takes Verbals: to get, required Do I have these right? I was really confused. Also, I cannot figure out where the clauses end and start and what type of sentence it is. It seems like "it takes for her to get ready" is a relative clause but I'm not sure about that at all. I'm sort of thinking it's a complex sentence but I'm not sure. Any help would be great!
Why do you need to analyze it? Being able to label it doesn't tell you why it's good or bad. You don't need to know the names of these things to improve, either. You just have to ask yourself 1) does it sound correct 2) does it sound good 3) does it clearly tell you everything you need to know in as few words as possible? I know plenty of talented writers who don't understand any of that stuff, myself included, and English teachers who know all that stuff inside out couldn't write something of publishable quality to save their life.
Hmmm, I'm inclined to agree with Rei. The very fact you're questioning it tells you there's something not right about it and no degree can teach you better than your instincts. Read it out loud, then say it as you'd naturally say it. Main thing, just relax...
Thanks for your comments but it was actually an assignment. I had to analyze a page of writing. I had no problem with everything else except for this sentence. I ended up putting "???" above it. I agree that you can intuitively know if it sounds wrong but I think understanding the parts of the sentence can make it a lot easier to understand what's wrong and avoid the problem in the future. For example, I now know that I love using too many adjectives and prepositional phrases. Keeping that in mind helps me to avoid the problem.
