7.1 Simple, Compound, Complex, & Compound-complex Sentences
7.1 Simple, Compound, Complex, & Compound-complex Sentences
(Ch. 10)
(Ch. 10)
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According to the syntactic structure of a sentence, it can be categorized as a
simple sentence
compound sentence
complex sentence or
compound-complex.
Simple Sentences
A simple sentence = a single independent clause (IC).
e.g., Subject | Predicate
Joe | waited for the train.
The train | was late.
Mary and Samantha | took the bus. (compound subject)
I | looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station.
Mary and Samantha | arrived at the bus station early but waited until noon for the bus.
(compound predicate)
2. Compound Sentences
A compound sentence contains two coordinated independent clauses.
For example,
"I’ve been rejected, but I was still in love." - Steve Jobs
It was a sunny spring afternoon, and my sister and I were having a tea party in the backyard.
Did you notice how we combined the two simple sentences? We added a comma and a conjunction. This conjunction is called a coordinating conjunction.
There are several other coordinate conjunctions. Together, they are called the "FANBOYS", which stand for "for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so."
3. Complex Sentences
A complex sentence contains at least one independent clause (aka the main clause) and one or more dependent clauses (DC).
"If you haven't found it yet, (you should) keep looking."
{He bought a new car} {because his old VW has stopped running}.
IC DC: Advl. (of reason)
Independent (IC) vs. Dependent Clauses (DC)
An independent clause can stand by itself. A dependent clause has to be attached to an independent clause via subordinating conjunction.
4. Compound-complex Sentences
A compound-complex sentence, as its name suggests, consists of both compound and complex clauses. Take a look at the sentence below:
{He bought a new car}, but {he likes his old car better} {as it is more gas-efficient}.
This sentence contains two coordinated simple sentences and a dependent clause {as it is more gas-efficient}, hence a compound-complex sentence.
Summary (Figure 10.1, p. 299)
PRACTICE:
PRACTICE:
Recognizing independent and dependent clauses and sentence types (Ex. 10.2, P. 300)
Identify sentence types in the poem 'The Road Not Taken'.
The Road Not Taken
BY ROBERT FROST
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
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