Sentence Structure:
Sentence Types
A Sentence...
• MUST have a subject and a verb (predicate)
• MUST have a complete thought
Also...
• Begins with a capital letter
• Ends with punctuation
Sentence Types
• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
• Compound-Complex
Basic Elements of Every Sentence
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Basic Elements
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Mary plays tennis.
Types of Sentence Structure
Simple sentence = ONE independent clause
May have a compound subject or compound verb, but still only
one main clause and no dependent clauses; may have phrases
included, but still only one independent, main clause
Examples:
Brian ran down the field.
(1 subject and 1 verb)
Hope and Kelsie talked and laughed all night.
(compound subject and compound verb)
Simple Sentence
Observe how a simple sentence is constructed:
We went to Lahore yesterday.
Simple Sentence
Pronoun Verb Prepositional phrase
We went to Lahore.
Simple subject Complete predicate
SIMPLE SENTENCE
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Mary plays tennis.
one subject one predicate
Simple Sentence
Tom and Mary play tennis.
Compound Subject
&
Simple Sentence
play tennis and swim.
Tom and Mary
Compound Subject Compound Predicate
& &
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
Tom and Mary play tennis.
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
and
compound predicate
Tom and Mary play tennis and
swim.
Types of Sentence Structure
Compound Sentence - = A compound sentence has 2 or
more parts that can stand alone (independent clauses)
Can be joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction
(FANBOYS), CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS or by a semicolon
Examples:
Hannah likes to read, but she likes to watch movies, too.
Hunter wants to play baseball, or he might go out for golf, but
he will always play football.
Ryan plays the trumpet well; he practices every day of the week.
Compound Sentence
We went to Lahore, and
most of us talked all night.
Compound Sentence
Subject Verb Prepositional phrase
We went to Lahore,
Predicate
Coordinating
Conjunction
and most of us talked all night .
Subject Verb Modifying phrase
Compound Sentence
Use of Coordinating Conjunctions
SUBJECT PREDICATE
and
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Compound Sentence
Tom swims,
and
Mary plays tennis.
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
FOR
AND
NOR
BUT
OR
YET
SO
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.
Comma before “and”
in compound
sentences!
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
MOREOVER
HOWEVER
OTHERWISE
THEREFORE
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.
Note: Semicolon
before conjunctive
adverb and comma
after conjunctive adverb!
Conjunctive Adverbs “float”
• Conjunctive adverbs are sometimes called
“floating” adverbs because they can be
positioned at the beginning, in the middle,
or at the end of a clause.
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
AT THE BEGINNING, IN THE MIDDLE,AT THE END
Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.
Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.
Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.
Semicolons
• “If the relation between the ideas expressed
in the main clauses is very close and
obvious without a conjunction, you can
separate the clauses with a semicolon”.
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
SEMICOLON
Tom has benefited from his exercise
program; he is slim and energetic.
Sentence Structure Practice:
Identify these sentences as Simple or Compound.
1. You and I need piano lessons.
2. I planned to go to the hockey game, but I couldn’t get tickets.
3. Bridget ran the first part of the race, and Tara biked the second part.
4. The bell rang.
5. Dorothy likes white water rafting, but she also enjoys kayaking.
6. The skier turned and jumped.
7. Ella hoped to win the contest and get a prize.
8. Jonathan saw the opportunity, and he drew back the bow.
9. Jack and Dustin scored well on the test in their math classes.
10. Kelly bought some new shoes, and she wore them to a party.
11. My horse loves to run and buck in the sunshine.
12. Kevin wanted to stay home, so Sandy went shopping.
13. Alicia goes to the library and studies every day.
14. John and Mark played football and baseball in high school.
15. Kim decided she did want to go on the trip, yet she still had to raise the money
to go.
Answers
1. Simple
2. Compound
3. Compound
4. Simple
5. Compound
6. Simple
7. Simple
8. Compound
9. Simple
10. Compound
11. Simple
12. Compound
13. Simple
14. Simple
15. Compound
Complex Sentence = 1 independent clause
and 1 or more dependent clauses
• A complex sentence has at least two parts:
one that can stand alone and another one
that cannot
• The part that cannot stand alone is linked
to the rest of the sentence by a
subordinating conjunction
Complex Sentence
• Examples:
• When it started to snow, all the children
were cheered.
• Before he started playing in the band, Josh
wondered what he would do with all of his
spare time.
Complex Sentence
Since my brother and I wanted to have fun,
we went to Lahore yesterday.
Complex Sentence
Since we wanted to have fun,
Subordinating Part that cannot stand alone
Conjunction
Subject Predicate
we went to Lahore yesterday.
Complex Sentence
SUBJECT PREDICATE
even though
SUBJECT PREDICATE
Complex Sentence
Bob is popular
even though
he is ugly.
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
The most common subordinating
conjunctions are "after," "although,"
"as," "because," "before," "how,"
"if," "once," "since," "than,"
"that," though," "till," "until,"
"when," "where," "whether,” and
while."
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Bob is popular even though he is ugly.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Dependent
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Dependent Independent
Compound-Complex Sentences = at least
2 independent clauses (compound) and at
least 1 dependent clause (complex)
Examples:
• When I realized I was wrong, I apologized,
but I still felt bad about it.
• Katie wanted a new puppy, and she asked
her mom after she had cleaned her room
thoroughly.
Compound-Complex Sentence
• This type of sentence has more than one
part that can stand alone, and at least one
that cannot.
• Conjunctions link the different parts of this
sentence.
Compound-Complex Sentence
Since we wanted to have fun,
my brother and I went to Lahore yesterday,
and we danced all night.
Compound-Complex Sentence
Subordinating
Conjunction
Since we wanted to have fun,
Part that cannot stand alone
my brother and I went to Lahore,
Coordinating Subject Predicate
Conjunction
and we danced all night.
Compound-Complex Sentence
Mike is popular
because
he is good looking,
but
he is not very happy.
Sentence Structure Practice:
Identify these sentences as Complex (CX) or Compound-Complex (CD-CX).
1. Michael always dresses nicely for school because he likes to be neat.
2. He stands at the bottom of the cliff while the climber moves up the
rock.
3. Since he studied hard, Nate passed the test, and he graduated with
honors.
4. Because Kayla has so much climbing experience, we asked her to lead
our group.
5. I must stay home until the man comes to repair the washing machine.
6. There are many problems to solve before this program can be used,
but engineers believe that they will be able to solve them soon.
7. I wrote Jane a letter while she was away at camp.
8. When the rain began, we were playing tennis.
9. When Tyler looks out his window, he sees the beautiful day waiting,
and he longs to be outside playing.
10. In the late afternoon sunshine, Paige looked beautiful on her horse.
Answers
1. Complex
2. Complex
3. Compound-complex
4. Complex
5. Complex
6. Compound-complex
7. Complex
8. Complex
9. Compound-complex
10.Complex
The Four Sentence Structures
SENTENCE INDEPENDENT DEPENDENT
STRUCTURE CLAUSES CLAUSES
Simple 1 0
Compound 2 or more 0
Complex 1 1 or more
Compound-Complex 2 or more 1 or more
