Simple question

Seems awkward but possible, Taka.

I would change it to 'when I was a child, I loved reading but hated assignments.'

Yeh, awkward it is (it's a sentence written by a student of mine).

Yours is fine. Or, I would wirte "As a child, I loved reading while I hated assignments" or "When I was a child, I loved reading. However, I hated assignments".

Is it possible to generalize that we shouldn't have two or more adverbial clauses in a sentence?

Honestly, I don't think we can generalize that, Taka, except as advice for good style-- in the case of learners especially. Trying to create a smooth but complex idea is not an easy task, yet I think good writers can easily accommodate such structures:

'When I was a lad, I would sit on the porch gazing at the stars while my mother was busy making dinner and Dad was taking a bath.'

Yes. I know in reality there are many complex sentence structures as you have given. IMO, those are for really skilled writers who prefer 'elaborate' styles. But I don't think those are good for making sentences plain and clear.

'Advice for good style-- in the case of learners especially'. Yes, that's exactly what I mean. I should have said it that way instead of using the word 'general

Not wierd, but awkward. It's hard to pinpoint, Taka-- it seems to need a comma before 'while', yet that would throw the 'while' clause into a sort of parallel or counterbalance to the 'when' clause-- so that the reader is not sure of the hierarchy between them in their relationship to the main clause.

Notice what I did instinctively to improve it: 'when I was a child, I loved reading b

Hmm..., then it seem that it's almost safe to say that, in most cases-not always, though we shouldn't use two or more adverbial clauses to avoid confusion.

(Again, one of your 'A Simple Question' posts is turning into a more complex one, Taka!)

Sorry about that!

Perhaps it seems awkward because of the ambiguous nature of the word "while".

It could mean both "at the same time" and "on the other hand".
If the writer used "however" or "but" then the confusion is cleared up.

If the sentence was spoken however, it may not sound as awkward. If spoken, a slight pause before and after the word "while" to add a directional shift would cl

The way I see it, awkwardness stems from the juxtaposition of the two words, 'reading' and 'assignments.' I feel there seems to be a lack of relevance to each other in that 'reading' is specific, while 'assignments' is too broad. Thus, a little far-fetchedness results.

As for the structure itself, I don't see any problem. It's not difficult to find such structures or even more complicat

Example:

When I have a problem in English, I visit EnglishForward.com., because there are many people who give me helpful advice, although sometimes it takes some time to get the answer.

Is such construction, which can be seen sometimes in my students' composition, acceptable?

When I was in the U.S, I was strictly told by my instructor that, in

In the case of a series of subordinate clauses, I tend to use a semicolon much as it is used in lists with internal commas:

'I have lived in Los Angeles, California; Victoria, British Columbia; and Yokohama, Japan.'

In the same way, I would replace the comma before 'although' with a semicolon, knowing full well that the clause is not independent, yet confident that the sentence