Sentence Structure

Sentence Types

Sentence Structure
Sentence Types
By Douglas Jones Language and Culture Center University of Houston

Sentence Types

Simple Compound Complex

Basic Elements of Every Sentence

SUBJECT

PREDICATE

Basic Elements
SUBJECT PREDICATE

Mary

plays tennis.

SIMPLE SENTENCE
SUBJECT

PREDICATE

Mary
one subject

plays tennis.
one predicate

Simple Sentence

Tom and Mary

play tennis.

Compound Subject &

Simple Sentence
Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

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.

Hi, Im Punctuation Pete!

SIMPLE SENTENCE with compound subject and compound predicate

Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

No comma before and in compound subjects and predicates!

Compound Sentence with Coordinating Conjunctions

SUBJECT
and

PREDICATE

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 Independent Clause 2 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 Independent Clause 2 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

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
IN THE MIDDLE

Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
IN THE MIDDLE

Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.

Note: Place commas before and after a conjunctive adverb in the middle!

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
AT THE END

Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
AT THE END

Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.

Note: Place a comma before a conjunctive adverb at the end!

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 (Little, Brown Handbook, 9th Edition, p. 361).

COMPOUND SENTENCE:
SEMICOLON

Matt has benefited from his exercise program; he is slim and energetic.

Complex Sentence
SUBJECT
even though

PREDICATE

SUBJECT

PREDICATE

Complex Sentence
Bob
even though

is popular

he

is ugly.

COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS EVEN THOUGH WHEN BECAUSE ADVERB CLAUSES UNLESS WHEREAS

COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Bob is popular even though he is ugly.

Clause 1 Independent Clause 2 Dependent

COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.

Clause 1 Dependent Clause 2 Independent

COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Bob is popular even though he is ugly.

When the MAIN clause is first, it is usually NOT followed by a comma!

COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.

When the ADVERB clause is first, it is followed by a comma!

Compound-Complex Sentence
Mike
because

is popular

he
but

is good looking,

he

is not very happy.

COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE:
COMBINES BOTH TYPES

Mike is popular because he is good looking, but he is not very happy.

Punctuate each clause according to its rules!

Punctuation Review!

SIMPLE SENTENCE

My friends and I play tennis and go bowling every weekend.

No commas before and in compound subjects and predicates!

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

Coordinating Conjunction

Men may exercise harder, but they may not exercise as regularly as women do.

Comma before coordinating conjunction!

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

Conjunctive Adverb
Native and nonnative English speakers have different needs; however, some schools fail to distinguish between these groups.

Semicolon before conjunctive adverb Comma after conjunctive adverb!

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

Conjunctive Adverb--in the middle

Native and nonnative English speakers have different needs; some schools, however, fail to distinguish between these groups.

Semicolon after first independent clause-Commas before and after conjunctive adverb!

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

Conjunctive Adverb at the end

Native and nonnative English speakers have different needs; some schools fail to distinguish between these groups, however.

Semicolon after first independent clause-Comma before conjunctive adverb!

COMPLEX SENTENCE:

Adverb Clauses--Subordinating Conjunction

People had continuous moderate exercise when they had to hunt for food.

When main clause is first, it is not usually followed by a comma!

COMPLEX SENTENCE:

Adverb Clauses--Subordinating Conjunction

When people had to hunt for food, they had continuous moderate exercise.

When the adverb clause is first, it is followed by a comma!

References
Writing Academic English, Second Edition, by Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue. White Plains: Addison, Wesley, Longman, 1999. The Little, Brown Handbook, by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, Pearson, 2004.