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自50年代末乔姆斯基的语言学理论问世以来，许多语言学家对以英语为母语的少儿的语言进行研究，发现随着年龄的增长，少儿的语言技能日趋成熟，其中一个明显标志是句子长度和复杂程度不断增加。在字数相同的作文中，语言技巧越娴熟的，句子的数目就越少，这意味着句子越长，结构越复杂，句子的意义含量就越大。根据这一理论，美国语言学家和教师进行了大量的写作教学法研究，发现合并句子(combining sentences)有助于促进语言技巧成熟。当然，长句和短句各有优点，在写作中它们应适当交叉使用，相互补充，使文章波澜起伏，错落有致，增加语言表现力。但一连串的短句会使人感到幼稚，有必要将它们合并。例如： 短句：I returned to my room.There was a note under my door.It was from Bill.He said he was in the town looking for a job.He hadnt found anything yet.He was sorry to have missed me. 合并：When I returned to my room，I found a note from Bill under the door.He said he was in the town looking for a job，but hadnt found anything yet.He added that he was sorry to have missed me. | 
