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Sentence Types: Sentences: Simple, Compound, and Complex

This document defines and provides examples of simple, compound, and complex sentences. [1] Simple sentences contain one independent clause with a subject and verb. [2] Compound sentences contain two independent clauses joined with a coordinator such as "and" or "but." [3] Complex sentences contain an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses joined by a subordinator such as "because" or "when."

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Muhammad Rizam Hj Bakri
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118 views

Sentence Types: Sentences: Simple, Compound, and Complex

This document defines and provides examples of simple, compound, and complex sentences. [1] Simple sentences contain one independent clause with a subject and verb. [2] Compound sentences contain two independent clauses joined with a coordinator such as "and" or "but." [3] Complex sentences contain an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses joined by a subordinator such as "because" or "when."

Uploaded by

Muhammad Rizam Hj Bakri
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SENTENCE TYPES

Sentences:  Simple, Compound, and Complex

Experienced writers use a variety of sentences to make their writing interesting and
lively. Too many simple sentences, for example, will sound choppy and immature
while too many long sentences will be difficult to read and hard to understand. 

This page contains definitions of simple, compound, and complex sentences with
many simple examples.  The purpose of these examples is to help the ESL/EFL
learner to identify sentence basics including identification of sentences in the short
quizzes that follow.   After that, it will be possible to analyze more complex
sentences varieties. 

SIMPLE SENTENCE

A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject and a


verb, and it expresses a complete thought. In the following simple sentences,
subjects are in yellow, and verbs are in green.  

A. Some students like to study in the mornings.


B. Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon.
C. Alicia goes to the library and studies every day.
The three examples above are all simple sentences.  Note that sentence B contains
a compound subject, and sentence C contains a compound verb.  Simple
sentences, therefore, contain a subject and verb and express a complete thought,
but they can also contain a compound subjects or verbs. 

COMPOUND SENTENCE

A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator.


The coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first
letter of each of the coordinators spells FANBOYS.) Except for very short
sentences, coordinators are always preceded by a comma. In the following
compound sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the
coordinators and the commas that precede them are in red. 

A.  I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English. 


B.  Alejandro played football, so Maria went shopping. 
C.  Alejandro played football, for Maria went shopping.
The above three sentences are compound sentences.  Each sentence contains two
independent clauses, and they are joined by a coordinator with a comma preceding
it.  Note how the conscious use of coordinators can change the relationship
between the clauses.  Sentences B and C, for example, are identical except for the
coordinators.  In sentence B, which action occurred first?  Obviously, "Alejandro
played football" first, and as a consequence, "Maria went shopping.  In sentence C,
"Maria went shopping" first.  In sentence C, "Alejandro played football" because,
possibly, he didn't have anything else to do, for or because "Maria went shopping." 
How can the use of other coordinators change the relationship between the two
clauses?  What implications would the use of "yet" or "but" have on the meaning of
the sentence?

COMPLEX SENTENCE

A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent


clauses. A complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since,
after, although, or when or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which. In the
following complex sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the
subordinators and their commas (when required) are in red.

 
A. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher the last
page. 
B. The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error. 
C. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.
D. After they finished studying, Juan and Maria went to the movies. 
E. Juan and Maria went to the movies after they finished studying.
When a complex sentence begins with a subordinator such as sentences A and D,
a comma is required at the end of the dependent clause. When the independent
clause begins the sentence with subordinators in the middle as in sentences B, C,
and E, no comma is required. If a comma is placed before the subordinators in
sentences B, C, and E, it is wrong.

Note that sentences D and E are the same except sentence D begins with the
dependent clause which is followed by a comma, and sentence E begins with the
independent clause which contains no comma.  The comma after the dependent
clause in sentence D is required, and experienced listeners of English will often
hear a slight pause there.  In sentence E, however, there will be no pause when the
independent clause begins the sentence. 
COMPLEX SENTENCES / ADJECTIVE CLAUSES

Finally, sentences containing adjective clauses (or dependent clauses) are also
complex because they contain an independent clause and a dependent clause. 
The subjects, verbs, and subordinators are marked the same as in the previous
sentences, and in these sentences, the independent clauses are also underlined. 

 
A. The woman who(m) my mom talked to sells cosmetics.
B. The book that Jonathan read is on the shelf.
C. The house which AbrahAM  Lincoln was born in is still standing.
D. The town where I grew up is in the United States.
Adjective Clauses are studied in this site separately, but for now it is important to
know that sentences containing adjective clauses are complex.

http://www.eslbee.com/sentences.htm

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