Types of Sentences: Simple, Compound, Complex and Compound-complex
Are you someone wanting to know more about compound-complex, simple, compound, and complex sentences? Yes, we know that they are types of sentences, but individually have other characteristics too. Keep reading to know more about these types of sentences!
Simple Sentence:
A simple sentence is a group of words that has a subject, a verb, and delivers a complete thought. Another name for a simple sentence is an independent clause.
For example:
- I am a student.
In this sentence, Subject: I and Verb: am
- I can speak English.
In this sentence, Subject: I and Verb: speak
- Nick opened the door.
In this sentence, Subject: Nick and Verb: door
- He ate her lunch.
In this sentence, Subject: He and Verb: ate
- They are having pizza for dinner tonight
In this sentence, Subject: They and Verb: are having
- Mom cooked dinner.
In the sentence mentioned above, Subject: Mom and Verb: cooked.
We can see how there are no conjunctions at the beginning or end of these groups of words, so they are showcasing a complete thought making all of them simple sentences.
Simple Sentence with a Compound Subject:
A simple sentence can have a compound subject, which means two different people or things are doing the same action.
For example:
- Winston and Davis are working on the project.
In this sentence, Subjects: Winston, Davis, and Verb: are working
- Nick and Zoe are having orange juice.
In this sentence, Subjects: Nick, Zoe, and Verb: are having
- Mom and Dad cooked dinner.
Subjects: Mom, Dad, and Verb: cooked in this sentence.
In this situation, two people are doing the same action, making it a compound subject. In the second sentence, “Mom” and “Dad” are linked together by the coordinating conjunction “and” being the reason why we call it a simple sentence with compound subjects because there are two or more people or things doing the same action. The conjunctions connected the subjects, so this is a complete thought. Coordinating conjunctions can be remembered by the famous acronym FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So).
Related Read: https://mytutorsource.com/blog/why-hire-mts-english-tutor/
Simple Sentence with a Compound Predicate:
A simple sentence can have a compound predicate, which means the subject or subjects of the sentence are doing two or more different things or actions.
For example:
- Shawn worked on the project and completed it.
In this sentence, Subject: Shawn and Verbs: worked and completed
- Nick ate pasta and washed the dishes.
In the sentence, Subject: Nick and Verbs: ate and washed
- Mom cooked dinner and cleaned the kitchen
In the sentence mentioned above, Subject: Mom and Verbs: cooked and cleaned.
In these sentences, the two verb phrases are linked together by the coordinating conjunction “and”; this makes this simple sentence have a compound predicate. The conjunctions in these sentences connect the verb phrases, which means that this is a complete thought. So we know that these groups of words can stand on their own because they have a subject, verb, and a complete thought.
Compound Sentence:
A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction.
For example:
- I am a doctor. My friend is a teacher.
These are two independent clauses and can stand on their own; however, we will add conjunction to form a compound sentence.
- I am a doctor, and my friend is a teacher.
- She tried to lift her bag. It was too heavy.
- She did not bring her lunch, so she ordered through the app.
- I want to go to work, but I am tired.
Words like and, but, so are called coordinating conjunctions. Another important thing when we connect these independent clauses is we add a comma after the first clause before adding the conjunction with the second clause. Then, we have a compound sentence.
Complex Sentences:
A complex sentence has dependent, and independent clauses joined by a conjunction.
For example:
- When i got home from school yesterday
This is a dependent clause as it does not express a complete thought and cannot stand on its own. To make it complete, we have to add an independent clause.
- When I got home from school yesterday, I watched TV for an hour.
- I love to travel because I get to meet a lot of interesting people.
In this example, one can notice how ‘I love to travel’ is an independent clause, and then it is joined by a dependent clause ‘because I get to meet a lot of interesting people, ’ making it a complex sentence.
- Although he was wealthy, he was still unhappy.
Dependent clauses start with the linking verbs like ‘when, because, even though’; these conjunctions are called subordinating conjunctions. If the dependent clause comes first, we put a comma after it, then write the independent clause.
- When we buy her birthday cake, we have to make sure it’s chocolate.
Compound-Complex Sentence:
As the name suggests, a mixture of compound and complex sentences makes a complex-compound sentence. A compound-complex sentence has more than one independent clause, and one or more dependent clauses joined by the exact coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS).
For example:
- I was crazy about pop music when I was younger, but I’m more into jazz now.
The first clause is independent, and then there is a dependent clause, then coordinating conjunction, but then another dependent clause.
Another example:
- If it rains tomorrow, bring your umbrella, or you might catch a cold.
In this example, if it rains tomorrow is a dependent clause, bring your umbrella is an independent clause, or is coordinating conjunction, and then you might catch a cold is an independent clause.
- After the rain stopped, I went outside and picked flowers.
In this example, ‘after the rain stopped’ is a dependent clause and does not give a proper meaning; however, the latter group of words, ‘I went outside’ and ‘I picked flowers,’ are independent clauses and can stand on their own.
