Sentence types and how to punctuate them

A quiz to test your knowledge of different sentence types and the basics of how to punctuate them

For English students​

​The purpose of this quiz

​This semester we have been studying different sentence types. We have also discussed the punctuation rules related to different sentence types.

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This quiz is designed to check your knowledge. You can use it to self-assess how familiar you are with the information that we have been discussing. ​

Subject and verb

​To discuss sentence types, we need understand some important terminology. Two words we use often when discussing sentences are 'subject' and 'verb'.

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Let's test your knowledge now. ​

Multiple Choice

What is the subject in this next sentence? I really love the carrot cake that my grandmother makes.

• I

• love

• carrot cake

• grandmother

Multiple Choice

What is the subject in this next sentence? Tomorrow morning, we are going to the zoo.

• Morning

• we

• are

• zoo

Multiple Choice

What is the verb in this next sentence? The tiger stalked her prey.

• tiger

• stalked

• her

• prey

Multiple Choice

What is the verb in this next sentence? He is extremely tall.

• He

• is

• extremely

• tall

​Remember that if the verb is the word that relates to 'doing', 'being' or 'having, then the subject is the person, animal or object that is 'doing' that action or 'having' that quality, etc.

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She is very kind. ​The chocolates are delicious. We walked to the beach. His pet lizard has a long tail.

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All sentences need both a subject and a verb.

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Independent and dependent clauses​

In order to discuss sentences, we also need to be able to identify independent and dependent clauses.

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Let's test your knowledge now. ​

Multiple Choice

An independent clause...

• Has both a subject and a verb

• Can stand alone as its own sentence

• Can be a part of a sentence (and attached to other clauses)

• All of the above!

Multiple Choice

A dependent clause...

• Cannot stand alone and must be attached to an independent sentence

• Can join with another dependent clause to make a complete sentence

• Always has a comma either before it or after it

• All of the above!

Multiple Choice

Is the orange section in the next sentence a dependent clause or an independent clause? Even though I don't usually like bananas, I really enjoyed the banana cake that you made.

• Dependent

• Independent

Multiple Choice

Is the orange section in the next sentence a dependent clause or an independent clause? I ran towards the door, and I pulled it open with all of my strength.

• Dependent

• Independent

Multiple Choice

Is the orange section in the next sentence a dependent clause or an independent clause? Last night, I ate dinner with my brother, and he told me that he is going to buy himself a puppy if he gets the new job that he applied for.

• Dependent

• Independent

Did you notice different sentence types?

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As you worked your way through those recent questions, I hope that you were able to notice a variety of different sentence types. ​

Multiple Choice

We have studied four different sentence types. These sentence types include simple sentences, compound sentences...

• complicated sentences and complex sentences

• comma sentences and comma-conjunction sentences

• complex sentences and compound-complex sentences

• conjunctions and commas

4 different types of sentences

There are simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences and compound-complex sentences.

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Each different sentence type has different punctuation rules. ​

Multiple Choice

Simple sentences have only one subject and one predicate (a verb or verbal phrase that describes the action). Simple sentences do NOT have...

• commas

• dependent clauses

• objects or indirect objects

• dialogue

Multiple Select

A compound sentence is made of two independent clauses that have been joined together. You can join compound sentences with...

• a conjunction and a comma

• a comma

• a colon

• a semi-colon

Multiple Choice

A complex sentence is...

• A sentence made of two dependent clauses joined together

• A sentence made of two independent clauses that have been joined together

• A sentence made of one or more dependent clauses and only one independent clause

• A sentence made of one or more dependent clauses and at least two independent clauses

Multiple Choice

A compound-complex sentence is...

• A sentence made of two dependent clauses joined together

• A sentence made of two independent clauses that have been joined together

• A sentence made of one or more dependent clauses and only one independent clause

• A sentence made of one or more dependent clauses and at least two independent clauses

Knowing this information is a great way to learn punctuation rules. You can feel more confident about exactly where to place a comma or a semi-colon.

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Why bother learning this? ​

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Multiple Choice

What type of sentence is this next one? Yesterday afternoon, I took my cat to the vet.

• Simple

• Compound

• Complex

• Compound-complex

Multiple Choice

What type of sentence is this next one? Despite my initial worries, I really enjoyed learning a new language, and I am grateful that I had the opportunity to do so.

• Simple

• Compound

• Complex

• Compound-complex

Multiple Choice

What type of sentence is this next one? I slid all the way to the bottom of the water slide, whereas my brother got stuck half way down, and we had to help him climb back up to the top.

• Simple

• Compound

• Complex

• Compound-complex

Multiple Choice

What type of sentence is this next one? My favourite type of pasta is gnocchi, and I cook it every chance I get.

• Simple

• Compound

• Complex

• Compound-complex

Multiple Choice

What type of sentence is this next one? We all laughed.

• Simple

• Compound

• Complex

• Compound-complex

Multiple Choice

What type of sentence is this next one? Although it is true that the novel is really long, I am confident that you will love it.

• Simple

• Compound

• Complex

• Compound-complex

Let's now test that you know the basics of how to punctuate these different types of sentences.

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Multiple Choice

When using a conjunction to join two independent clauses together to create a compound sentence, you should place...

• a comma immediately before the conjunction

• a comma immediately after the conjunction

• a semi-colon immediately before the conjunction

• a semi-colon immediately after the conjunction

Place a comma immediately before the conjunction

​I love horses, and I hope to own a horse one day.

You can also use a semi-colon (without a conjunction) to join two independent clauses together. The sample sentence is a good example of a time that this would work well. That said, you will not do this too often. Most of the time, the conjunction is actually quite important, because it adds to the meaning of the sentence.

Multiple Choice

When students join two independent clauses with only a comma (and they forget to add a conjunction) this is an error referred to as a...

• complex sentence

• subordinating conjunction

• comma splice

• dependent clause

Multiple Choice

When writing a complex sentence you join a dependent clause to an independent clause. There is an important punctuation rule to keep in mind. What is that rule?

• Only can only separate the clauses with a semi-colon if the dependent clause is particularly long

• Only separate the clauses with a comma if the sentence is in present tense

• Only separate the clauses with a comma if the dependent clause comes second

• Only separate the clauses with a comma if the dependent clause comes first

Only use a comma if the dependent clause comes first

• ​Even though cats can be aloof, I still really enjoy their company.

• I love my cat dearly despite how aloof she can be. ​

You can see that I have used a comma to separate the first sentence, but I have not used a comma at all in the second sentence.

Multiple Choice

When creating a compound-complex sentence, the dependent clause...

• must be included at the beginning of the sentence

• must be included in the middle of the sentence (with an independent clause on either side)

• must be included at the end of the sentence

• can be included at the beginning, the middle or the end of the sentence

The dependent clause can go anywhere at all

Whenever you use a dependent clause in a sentence, there is no specific rule about where the dependent clause must go. In fact, you can have multiple dependent clauses in a compound-complex sentence. ​

Multiple Choice

When punctuating compound-complex sentences...

• You can simply apply the rules that you have already learnt for complex and compound sentences

• You must learn the new places to put commas (and sometimes semi-colons) as the rules completely change

• You must only use commas (and you cannot use semi-colons at any point)

Punctuating compound-complex sentences

Remember that the dependent clause can be at the beginning, middle, or end of a compound-complex sentence. No matter where it is placed, the punctuation follows the rules for both compound sentences and complex sentences.

That means that you need to put a comma before the coordinating conjunction and, if applicable, another comma after the dependent clause when it occurs at the beginning of the sentence.

You have finished this quiz. As you are aware, there are other instances that require punctuation (for example, when you add an adverbial phrase to the beginning of a sentence). We will study these rules another time.

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Well done!

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