ENGLISH III – Writing

Topic: kinds of sentences: by the structure

Simple Sentence

A simple sentence contains one independent clause.

 Robert doesn’t eat meat.

 My brother and I went to the mall last night.

Compound Sentence

A compound sentence has two independent clauses joined by a linking word (and, but, or,
so, yet, however).
Each independent clause could be a sentence by itself, but we connect them with a linking
word:

 Robert doesn’t eat meat, so Barbara made a special vegetarian dish for him.
 My brother and I went to the mall last night, but we didn’t buy anything.

Complex Sentence

A complex sentence has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.

A dependent clause cannot be a complete sentence by itself.

 Robert, a friend I’ve known since high school, doesn’t eat meat.
 My brother and I went to the mall last night, while my sister stayed home and
studied.

Compound-Complex Sentence

A compound-complex sentence contains 3 or more clauses: 2 independent and at least 1

dependent clause.

 Robert, a friend I’ve known since high school, doesn’t eat meat – so Barbara made a
special vegetarian dish for him.

Independent clauses: “Robert doesn’t eat meat” and “Barbara made a special vegetarian
dish for him”
Dependent clause: “a friend I’ve known since high school”
Linking word: “so”
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Read the following sentences. Write if they are: Simple, Compound, Complex or
Compound- Complex

1. Karen baked cookies for dessert. _____________________

2. Jana wants cereal, but Paul wants pancakes. ________________________
3. When it stops raining, we will play baseball. ____________________
4. We went to the beach, and then we went to the mountains. ____________________
 5. Because she is nice, Mrs. Thomas let us read books that we brought from home.
_______________________
6. Chris was hungry, so he made a sandwich. _____________________
7. After we arrived at school, I went to gym, and Sara went to English. ____________
8. I need a new coat, so mom said that she would buy one. __________________
9. You should brush your teeth before you go to bed. ___________________
10. Will you bring chips for the party that we are having for Jan, and can you invite
Marie? ___________________
11. Jeff and John are brothers. ______________________

Read the following sentences. Check the box marked Simple, Compound or Complex.

https://www.espressoenglish.net/english-sentence-structure-4-types-of-english-sentences/
1. Karen baked cookies for dessert. SIMPLE
2. Jana wants cereal, but Paul wants pancakes. COMPOUND
3. When it stops raining, we will play baseball. COMPLEX
4. We went to the beach, and then we went to the mountains. COMPOUND
5. Because she is nice, Mrs. Thomas let us read books that we brought from home.
COMPLEX
6. Chris was hungry, so he made a sandwich. COMPOUND
7. After we arrived at school, I went to gym, and Sara went to English. COMPOUND-
COMPLEX
8. I need a new coat, so mom said that she would buy one. COMPOUND-COMPLEX
9. You should brush your teeth before you go to bed. COMPLEX
10. Will you bring chips for the party that we are having for Jan, and can you invite
Marie? COMPOUND-COMPLEX
11. Jeff and John are brothers. SIMPLE