SENTENCE STRUCTURE

 ENC0025L Unit 3
SENTENCE TYPES

Simple
Compound
Complex
Compound­
Complex
SENTENCE STRUCTURE
CLAUSES:
SENTENCE STRUCTURE CHART©

TYPE IND. CLAUSE DEP. CLAUSE TRANS.

      SENTENCE TYPES  
SIMPLE     Only 1 0 N/A
       
 
 
COMPOUND      2 or more                        0 1/ S/V/I/ ,FANBOYS S/V/I
      2/         ; adv. Conj,
  3/                 ;
 
COMPLEX     Only 1          1 or more 1/ Ind. CL + Dep. Cl
      2/ Dep. CL+,+ Ind. CL
 
 
COMPOUND­COMPLEX       2 or more 1 or more Any of the above
    
       
       
       
       
SIMPLE SENTENCE

SUBJECT PREDICATE

Mary plays tennis.

one subject one predicate

SIMPLE SENTENCE

Tom and Mary play tennis.

Compound Subject

&
SIMPLE SENTENCE

Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

Compound Subject Compound Predicate

& &
 Hi,
I’m 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 PREDICATE

and

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 Clause 2
Independent 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 Clause 2
Independent 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:
IN THE MIDDLE

Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.

Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
SEMICOLON

Matt has benefited from his exercise

program; he is slim and energetic.
COMPLEX SENTENCE

Bob is popular

even though

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 Clause 2
Independent Dependent
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Dependent 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!
COMPOUND­COMPLEX 
SENTENCE

Mike is popular

because

he is good looking,

but

he  is not very happy.
PRACTICE EXERCISES
 Each one of you is going to read the sentence on 
each practice slide and select the correct sentence 
type: Simple, Compound, Complex, or 
Compound­Complex.  
 Hint: Count how many independent and dependent 
clauses, and use the sentence type chart you copied. 
 Simple
Simple

The clown frightened
the little girl. 

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 Complex
Complex

After Mary added up
all the sales, she 
discovered that the 
lemonade stand was
32 cents short. 

31
 Compound
Compound

The clown frightened
the little girl, and she
ran off screaming.   

32
 Simple
Simple

The Freedom Riders
departed on May 4,
1961. 

33
 Compound
Compound

The Freedom Riders
departed on May4, 
1961, and they were
determined to travel
through many 
southern states. 

34
 Complex
Complex

After Mary added up
all the sales, she
discovered that the 
lemonade stand was 
32 cents short. 

35
 Complex
Complex

After you finish the
first assignment, take
a break.  

36
 Simple
Simple

After finishing the 
first assignment, you
may take a break.  

37
 Simple
Simple

There are no 
Available seats.  

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 compound­Complex
compound­Complex

Catch­22 is widely 
regarded as Joseph
Heller’s best novel,
and because Heller
served in World War
II, which the novel 
Satirizes, the zany but savage 
Wit of the novel packs an
Extra punch.  

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Any 
Questions?

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