Sentence Structure

SENTENCE
STRUCTURE

Sentence Structure Types

⚫Simple

⚫Compound

⚫Complex

⚫Compound-Complex

ARE MADE OF ONE INDEPENDENT
CLAUSE AND THEREFORE FORM A

COMPLETE THOUGHT.

Simple sentences

ARE MADE OF TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES JOINED IN

ONE OF THE FOLLOWING WAYS:

1.A COORDINATING CONJUNCTION WITH A COMMA

2.A SEMICOLON WITH A CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB

3.A SEMICOLON ONLY

Compound Sentences

Compound Sentence

with a Coordinating Conjunction

⚫ Example with a Coordinating Conjunction

I like to dance, but Jim likes to sing.

Independent

Clause

Coordinating
Conjunction

Independent

Clause

Compound Sentence

with a Conjunctive Adverb and Semicolon

⚫ 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.

⚫ Some common conjunctive adverbs:

⚪ Moreover

⚪ However

⚪ Otherwise

⚪ Therefore

“Floating” Conjunctive Adverb

⚫ Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

⚫ Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.

⚫ Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.

Compound Sentence

with a Semicolon

⚫ “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)

⚫ Example: Tom has benefited from exercising; he is

slim and energetic.

Complex Sentence

⚫ contain one independent and one subordinate

(dependent) clause

⚫ the subordinate clause begins with a

subordinate conjunction

⚫ the clauses can appear in any order

Complex Sentence

⚫ After the sun set, we built a campfire.

⚫ We built a campfire after the sun set.

Dependent

Clause

Independent

Clause

Dependent

Clause

Independent

Clause

*Note the comma
when the dependent
clause comes at the
beginning of a
sentence.

⚫ contains one subordinate (dependent) clause

⚫ two or more independent clauses

⚫ Example: Since we wanted to have fun,my

boyfriend and I went to San Juan yesterday,

and we danced all night.

Compound-Complex Sentence

Exercises

Drag and Drop

1. The bell rang. ​

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2. Bridget ran the first part of the race, and Tara biked the second part.​

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3. He stands at the bottom of the cliff while the climber moves up the rock. ​

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4. The skier turned and jumped. ​

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5. Naoki passed the test because he studied hard and he understood the material.  ​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

compound

complex

simple

compound-complex

Answers

1.
Simple

2.
Compound

3.
Complex

4.
Simple

5.
Compound-complex

Drag and Drop

1. Because Kayla has so much climbing experience, we asked her to lead our group. ​ ​

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2. You and I need piano lessons. ​

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3. I planned to go to the hockey game, but I couldn’t get tickets. ​

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4. Dorothy likes white water rafting, but she also enjoys kayaking. ​

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5. There are many problems to solve before this program can be used, but engineers believe that they will be able to solve them soon. ​ ​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

complex

simple

compound

compound-complex

Answers

1.

Complex

2.

Simple

3.

Compound

4.

Compound

5.

Compound-complex

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.