Grammar Boot Camp

Sentence Types and Patterns

Adapted from http://www.delmar.edu/engl/wrtctr

Overview

Patterns of independent and dependent clauses create 4 types of sentences

Four Sentence Types: 1. Simple Sentence (1 IC)

2. Compound Sentence (2 ICs)

3. Complex Sentence (1 IC, 1 DC)

4. Compound/Complex Sentence (2 ICs, 1 DC)

Simple Sentence

Pattern: IC.

Examples:

1. My dog is named Charlie.

2. I had a cat named Blacky.

3. Charlie is a very bad dog.

4. Charlie is very mischievous.

Compound Sentences (2 ICs)

Three Types of

Compound

Sentences

A:

Joined with

FANBOYS

B:

Joined with ;

C:

Joined with ; and

Conjunctive adverb

Compound Sentence : a

Pattern:IC , for IC.and

nor

but Coordinating Conjunctions

or

yet

so

Example: Charlie barks at nothing, and my mom goes crazy.

FANBOYS!

Compound Sentence: A

More examples…

1. My mom didn’t want Charlie, but my sister convinced her.

2. My sister is in Chicago, so my mom is left to take care of him by herself.

3. My mom claims she can’t wait to get rid of him, but she secretly loves him.

Compound Sentence : B

Pattern: IC; IC.

Example: I went to the store; I bought some milk.

Compound Sentence : c

Pattern:IC ; therefore , IC.however

moreover Conjunctive Adverbs

furthermore

Example: I would love to have a cat; however, I know I don’t have time to take care of it.

Complex Sentences (DC + IC)

2 Types of Complex

Sentences

A:

DC, IC

B:

IC DC

Common Subordinating Conjunctions

Before After

When Although While Because If That Since

B

A

W

A

W

B

I

T

S

Complex Sentence : a

Pattern:DC, IC.

Example: When my cat Blacky died,

I was very upset.

Complex Sentence : b

Pattern:IC DC.

Example: I like cats better than dogs because they are more independent.

Compound-Complex Sentences

3 Types of

Compound-Complex

Sentences

A:

IC, IC DC

B:

IC DC, IC

C:

DC, IC, IC

Compound/Complex Sentence : a

Pattern:IC , for IC DC.and

nor

but Coordinating Conjunctions

or

yet

so

Example: I try to clean the house every day, but it is hard when I have so much to do.

Compound/Complex Sentence : b

Pattern:IC DC , for IC.and

nor

but Coordinating Conjunctions or

yet

so

Example: I would clean the house if I got paid for it, but I definitely don’t get paid.

Compound/Complex Sentence : c

Pattern:DC, IC , for IC.and

nor

but Coordinating Conjunctions or

yet

so

Example: Since my husband goes to school full time, he doesn’t have time to clean, but he still does more than I do.

Now It’s Your Turn:

Identify the sentence type (simple, compound, complex, compound/complex) for each item below:

1. I was scared when my cat ran away.2. Charlie can be very difficult, but I still love

him because he is so cute.3. Charlie got away from his leash one day, but

he didn’t even try to run away.4. I am happy that my mom has to take care of

him.

Answer key:

1. Complex2. Compound-Complex3. Compound4. Complex

How well do you understand?

Congratulations!

You are now a master of the four grammatical sentence types!