Sentence Structure

Sentence Types

Sentence Structure

Sentence Types

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

play tennis.

Tom and Mary

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, 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 , Mary

and

plays tennis.

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

F OR A ND N OR B UT O R Y ET S O

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:

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 PREDICATE SUBJECT

even though

PREDICATE

Complex Sentence

Bob is popular

even though

he is ugly.

COMPLEX SENTENCE:

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

ADVERB CLAUSES

EVEN THOUGH WHEN BECAUSE 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!

Compound-Complex Sentence Mike is popular

because

he is good looking,

but

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

Longman, 1999.

, Second Edition, by Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue. White Plains: Addison, Wesley,

The Little, Brown Handbook

, by H. Ramsey Fowler and Jane E. Aaron, Pearson, 2004.