The type of sentence is determined by the number and type of clauses it contains. It falls into one of the following:
Simple sentenceA simple sentence conveys a single idea. It has only one subject and one
verb.
EXAMPLE: She is my girlfriend. /
I am bored. / That is a fat monkey.
The verb in each sentence
is in bold.
A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. The independent clause is called the main
clause, and the dependent clause is called the subordinate
clause. These clauses are joined by conjunctions which include:
as, as if, even if, if, because, unless, etc.
EXAMPLE: As she is a big bully, I
stay away from her. / I will do it if I have the time.
The
main clauses are in bold; the subordinate clauses are not.
compound sentence is composed of at least two clauses or
sentences joined together by a conjunction, i.e. words like: and,
but, for, nor, or, so, therefore, either ... or, neither ... nor,
not only ... but also, etc., or punctuated by a semi-colon. A
compound sentence consists of at least two Independent or Main
Clauses and verbs. The subordinate or dependent clause may or may
not be present in a compound sentence. It is possible for a
compound sentence to have three, four or more independent
clauses. But commonly, it contains only two clauses.
EXAMPLE:I am skinny and you are
obese. (Two main clauses joined by a conjunction.)
EXAMPLE: I
know what you know. (Main clause: I know; subordinate clause:
what you know)
EXAMPLE: I always tell you what I know but you
never tell me what you know.
The last example shows a sentence
with two main clauses and two subordinate clauses.
A compound-complex sentence has at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
EXAMPLE: |
Although the car is old, |
it still runs well, |
and we intend to keep it. |
|
Dep. Clause |
indep. clause |
indep. clause |