Types of Sentences

Four Types of Sentences• SIMPLE sentence• COMPOUND Sentence• COMPLEX Sentence• COMPOUND-COMPLEX Sentence

Simple sentence

A simple sentence has one independent clause and no dependent clauses:

The student yawned.

Although a simple sentence cannot have a dependent clause, it can have modifiers:

•The tall student sitting in the back in my algebra class yawned loudly.

The basic sentence is ‘The student yawned’. The other words are modifiers - they are descriptive words.

• A simple sentence contains only one independent clause, but it can have more than one subject or verb:

• TWO SUBJECTS: The student and his friend yawned.

• TWO VERBS : The student yawned and fell asleep.

A sentence with all these elements will be long, but it is still simple because it contains only one independent clause:

The tall student sitting in the back in my physics class and his friend yawned loudly and fell asleep.

Compound sentence

A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses that are usually joined by a coordinating conjunction:

• Henry got a new job, so he has to move.

• I have a lot of homework, but I am not going to have time to study tonight.

Notice the difference between a simple sentence with a compound verb and a compound sentence with two clauses:

SIMPLE My house guests returned from a long day of shopping and went straight to bed.

COMPOUND My house guests returned home from a long day of shopping, and we decided to stay at home instead of going out.

What is the difference?

Compound sentence with coordinating conjunctions

• Most compound sentences are formed with a coordinating conjunction: and, or, but, so, for, nor, yet. The last three occur almost exclusively in writing, so they add a level of formality:

• The experiment was deemed successful, yet our results were unsatisfactory.

• The students were unhappy with their professor, for he often wasted their time in class.

Compound sentence without coordinating conjunctions

• Yet, while most compound sentences are formed with a coordinating conjunctions, often good writers decide to eliminate the conjunction and simply add a semicolon:

• The ambitious student initiated the research; the teacher was pleased by her efforts.

• The students were unhappy with their professor; he often wasted their time in class.

Complex sentenceA complex sentence has an independent

clause with one or more dependent clauses (or it’s called a subordinate clause). It is connected using a subordinating conjunctions.

Note that introductory dependent clauses must be followed by commas:

- Since we got to the concert late, we had to make our way to our seats in the dark.

-We left class early so that we could attend a special lecture.

Complex sentences should be punctuated in one of two ways:

INDEPENDENT CLAUSE dependent clause (no comma)

We left class early so that we could attend a special lecture.

Dependent clause, INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (comma)

So that we could attend a special lecture, we left class early.

Continued…Sample 1• Astronauts often feel seasick.• They first experience weightlessness.- Astronauts often feel sick when they first experience weightlessness.- When they first experience weightlessness, astronauts often feel sick Sample 2• The students were noisy.• The teacher handed out the test. - The students were noisy until the teacher handed out the test. - Until the teacher handed out the test, the students were noisy

Sample 3• The teacher told them to stop writing.• They put down their pencils

Subordinating Conjunctions• Time subordinators: Begin a clause that tells when sth

happens After – After Jessica goes to class, she finishes her

assignments. As – As the time passed by, Roy has grown to be a very

mischievous boy. As soon as – We will leave the airport as soon as

Masitah arrives. Before – Jamie cooks lunch for his family before he

goes to work everyday. Since – Puan Saripah has been sorrow since her

husband passed away a few years ago.

Continued…

Until – I will keep the cat with me until the owner claims for it.

When – When Dalila is busy, her husband will take care of their children.

Whenever – Whenever there is a robbery case, Hashim would be the main suspect as he just got out from the prison.

While – Syima is eating a pack of nasi lemak while she is driving.

Continued…

• Reason subordinators: Begin a clause that tells why sth happens.

Because – Camelia cries loudly because her mother scolds her.

Since – Latifah gets scolded by her lecturer since she always comes late to class.

As – Nobody dares to speak to her as she is a bad-tempered girl.

Continued…

• Place subordinators: Begin a clause that tells where sth happens or where sth is located.

Where – I write my phone number where my students can easily see it.

Wherever – I will follow you wherever you go.

Continued…• Comparison subordinators: Although (in spite of the fact that) Although it’s raining, the boys don’t want to go home.

Even though (to show something that is unexpected or to make a comparison stronger)

Even though he is my father, he doesn’t have a right to beat me.

Just as – Selina is good in Math just as her twin sister, Serina.

Whereas – Ahmad is tall whereas his elder brother is short.

Comparing compound and complex sentences

• interest, variety, and coherence• compound sentences differ from

complex sentences in one important way: In a compound sentence, both clauses have equal importance; in a complex sentence, the independent clause is more important.

Compare these sentences

• COMPOUND John was tired, but he finished his homework.

• COMPLEX Although John was tired, he finished his homework.

• In the first sentence, the writer is communicating that both clauses are equally important. In the second sentence, the writer is saying that the subordinate clause ("John was tired") is less important than the independent clause ("he finished his homework").

Compound-Complex Sentence

• A compound-complex sentence has three clauses, at least two of which are independent.

• You can use almost any combination of dependent and independent clause as long there is at least one independent clause in the sentence.

Example

• I wanted to travel after I graduated from college; however, I had to go to work immediately.

• After I graduated to college, I wanted to travel, but I had to go to work immediately.

• I wanted to travel after I graduated from college, but I had to go to work immediately because I had to support my family.

• I could not decide where I should work or what I should do, so at first I did nothing.