Cumulative sentence — English definition
A 'loose' sentence that states its main clause first and then adds a train of modifying phrases and clauses.
Where it is taught
- Advanced Syntax & Style — Language, Style & Conventions, English 11: American Voices, Identity & Public Memory, Grade 11
In use
A cumulative sentence (or loose sentence) states its main clause first and then piles on modifiers that add texture — the reader knows the point immediately and rides the details afterward: 'The gym emptied fast, players peeling off toward the locker room, parents folding chairs, a janitor already dragging a mop across the free-throw line.
Advanced Syntax & Style