What are juxtaposed sentences

In Spanish there are three types of sentences: coordinated sentences, subordinate sentences and, finally, juxtaposed sentences. In previous lessons we have studied the different types of coordinate and subordinate sentences analyzing the links that accompany each one of them but in this lesson from a PROFESSOR we are going to explain what are the sentences juxtaposed with their definition and examples. Keep reading!

The Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy (DRAE) define juxtaposition as the "union of two or more contiguous grammatical elements of the same hierarchical level and without intermediate particles that relate them". Following this definition, we understand that juxtaposed sentences are those sentences that are joined by punctuation marks. In this way, they differ from coordinated and subordinate sentences in that the latter two do use links to join each other.

One of the defining characteristics of juxtaposed sentences is that they lack nexus and instead they join each other through the asyndeton, which is a type of linguistic resource that consists of the elimination of the links or conjunctions that syntactically join the sentences.

Thus, since there is no nexus, lThe two parts of a juxtaposed sentence can be interchanged with each other without the meaning being altered or changed. For example, it is the same Juan reads, Carlos sleeps that the opposite, that is, Carlos sleeps, Juan reads. Juxtaposed sentences are usually linked by a comma, a period, a semicolon, or a colon.

Another characteristic of juxtaposition in Spanish is the importance of the enunciation context and the intention of the speaker. Both the first and second sentences are on an equal footing; namely, there is no main sentence and another subordinate, but it is a compound sentence, formed by two sentences joined through a graphic punctuation mark.

In this other video of a PROFESSOR we discover the differences between coordinate, subordinate and juxtaposed sentences.

Once we have explained what the definition of juxtaposition is, below we will see some examples of juxtaposed sentences so that you can understand it better:

• My brother sings, my friend plays the guitar, I write the lyrics of the songs.
• Pedro laughs, Ana cries.
• Marcos has a fever, Paula has a cough.
• This morning I got up early, I had lunch later with my friends.
• I still go to the movies, I don't know, I have to look at how much money I have in my wallet.
• This notebook is mine, yours is on the table in the office.
• Fernando tells me that I have to eat better, sleep more, worry less.
• Alicia has not arrived yet, I think, it may take a little longer than we had thought.
• I like doing sports, cooking, reading, and traveling.
• Luis did not answer the mobile phone, he had fallen asleep.
• The play was very popular, the audience applauded for almost 20 minutes.
• It rains too much, it is better to stay home today and go to the park tomorrow afternoon.
• He did his homework, listened to music.
• I went to dinner, my co-worker preferred to rest at home
• Health, money, love is what everyone wants.
• Make the food, I'll take care of doing the dishes when we're done eating.