loose sentence

American  

noun

1. a sentence that does not end with the completion of its main clause, but continues with one or more subordinate clauses or other modifiers.

---

Etymology

Origin of loose sentence

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

loose sentence

With their loose sentence structure and the melodic give and take allowing a team approach to conversation I knew they were Guyanese.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

Preciseness must be avoided, for in a young man it seemed to argue conscious effort: a loose sentence now and then, a colloquialism substituted for the more grammatical phrase.

From Born in Exile by George Gissing

The loose sentence is easy, informal, and familiar; the periodic is stiff, artificial, and aristocratic.

From English: Composition and Literature by W. F. (William Franklin) Webster

A loose sentence may be broken at some point before the end, and up to that point be grammatically a complete sentence.

From English: Composition and Literature by W. F. (William Franklin) Webster

Theoretically the periodic sentence is better than the loose sentence; for it economizes attention.

From English: Composition and Literature by W. F. (William Franklin) Webster