Sentence Structures

THE SIMPLE AND THE

COMPOUND SENTENCES

The Sentence
A group of words with two main parts:

A complete subject and a complete predicate

Expresses a complete thought

E.g. School announcements are made in the morning and at noon. School announcements complete subject Are made in the morning and at noon complete predicate

Four Structures of Sentences

Simple Compound

Complex
Compound-Complex

The Simple Sentence

Consists of a single independent clause May have compound subjects or verbs May also contain modifying phrases and

complements

 Compound Subject
The

producer and the scriptwriter argued about the script changes.

Compound Verb
Shakespeare

wrote and produced his own plays.

 Compound Predicate
The

boys fished all day and caught nothing.

Compound Subject & Compound

Predicate
Both

the mayor and the city council attended the hearings and defended the proposals.

Exercise A: Simple or Not?

The boys played basketball; the girls went for a walk. 2. The house was small, but the grounds were spacious. 3. The class visited the National Museum and spent hours examining the various exhibits. 4. My brothers friends waved and cheered for our team.
1.

Exercise B: Sentence Construction

1. Compound subject 2. Compound verb

3. Compound predicate
4. Compound subject and predicate

Compare the ff sentences:

The committee accepted my The committee accepted my

story and published it.

The committee accepted my

story, and the paper published it.

The committee accepted my

story and published it.

story, and they published it. Compound

Simple w/ Compound predicate

The Compound Sentence

Consists of two or more independent clauses put together Joined by:

1) a comma (,) and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, for, nor, or) 2) a semicolon (;) 3) a semicolon (;) and a conjunctive adverb (then, however, hence, etc.)

Examples: The plan seemed feasible, but I still felt unsure. The plane made a forced landing, and a crowd of police and emergency personnel gathered quickly at the scene. 3. She could not remember the number of the office, nor her friends could help her. 4. I understand his problem; I had once faced it myself. 5. The majority voted against it; therefore, the party was canceled.
1. 2.

Exercise C: Simple or Compound?

The car was nearly full, but we piled in. The group checked and rechecked their answers. Our friend learned German and got a job as an interpreter. 4. The hotel room was luxurious, but we couldnt open the windows and turn off the lights. 5. Read the directions carefully; then, begin the examination.
1. 2. 3.

6.
7.

8. 9. 10.

Your answer in the first problem is correct, but you have made an error in the second. Expecting a call from someone, she sat by the telephone all evening and drove everyone else away Decaying leaves and animal matter make the richest soil. The announcer repeated the news; the tragedy completely unnerved us. Two small moons circle the planet Mars; they are thought to be hollow.

Exercise: Describe these pictures using both compound and simple sentences