Cambridge Tute 5

Sentence Types
 Phrases and clauses
 Different sentence types
 Declarative
 Interrogative
 Imperative
 Exclamatory
 Simple sentences
 Compound sentence
 Complex sentences
 Compound-complex sentences

(Unit 3 page 11)

Explanations, Examples & exercises

Michelle Thomasz
Cambridge English Language Tute 5 Sentence Types pg. 1
Phrases & Clauses - -Explanation & Examples

There are many different types of phrases and clauses. The first step to identifying the different types, though,
is to understand the difference between a phrase and a clause.

Phrase

A phrase is a related group of words. The words work together as a "unit," but they do not have a
subject and a verb.

Example:
1. the boy on the bus (noun phrase)
2. will be running (verb phrase)
3. in the kitchen (prepositional phrase)
4. very quickly (adverb phrase)
5. Martha and Jan (noun phrase)

Clause

A clause is a group of words that does have both a subject and a verb. Some clauses are independent or a
main clause, meaning that they express a complete thought. An independent clause or a main clause is the
same as a complete sentence.

Some clauses are dependent, meaning that they cannot stand alone. They do have a subject and a verb, but
they do not express a complete thought. Another word for dependent is subordinate.

Example:
1. When I get home (dependent or subordinate clause)
2. The lights are not on. (independent clause)
3. When you wake up (dependent or subordinate clause)
4. Put it on the shelf. (independent clause-understood subject "you)
5. Since it fell on the floor (dependent or subordinate clause)

Cambridge English Language Tute 5 Sentence Types pg. 2

Phrases & Clauses -Exercises

Write ‘C’ if it is a clause. Write ‘P’ if it is a phrase.

a. ____ feeling bad about it b. ____ it went up the hill

c. ____ killed all the birds d. ____ it was here.

e. ____ we met some people. f. ____ passing through the forest.

g. ____ through difficult times. h. ____ clever and intelligent girl.

i. ____ the boy had a dream. j. ____ there is little hope.

k. ____ speeding his car through the streets of Al Ain. l. ____ I am going.

m. ____ Can you help us? n. ____ we were late.

o. ____ Shaikha and her mother. p. ____ Salama is my friend.

q. ____ it is easy. r. ____ the lions of Africa and India.

s. ____ the cat slept. t. ____ under my comfortable bed.

u. ____ it will be getting colder now. c. ____ crying and feeling sad.

w. ____ diamonds worth a million dirhams. x. ____ Fairy Godmother waved her magic wand.

y. ____ feeling hungry and tired. z. ____ who has my pencil?

Cambridge English Language Tute 5 Sentence Types pg. 3

Sentence Types -Explanation & Examples

Declarative Sentence

A declarative sentence (as the name suggests) states a fact or an argument and ends with a full stop ( )/
period ( ).

Declarative sentences are by far the most common type of sentence.

Example:

 There are five million people at risk.

 London is the capital of England.

Imperative Sentence

An imperative sentence is a command or a polite request. It ends with an exclamation mark (!) or a full stop /
period.

Example:

 Fetch my umbrella!
 Please bring my umbrella.

Interrogative Sentence

An interrogative sentence asks a question. It ends with a question mark (?).

Example:

 Can you find my umbrella?

 What is the capital of England ?

Exclamatory Sentence

An exclamatory sentence expresses excitement or emotion. It ends with an exclamation mark (!). For
example:

Example:

 You've broken my umbrella!

 Lionel house are the Champions !

Cambridge English Language Tute 5 Sentence Types pg. 4

Sentence Types-Exercises

Listen to the sentence when it's read out and add the ending punctuation marks and tell what kind of
sentences these are: declarative, interrogative, imperative or exclamatory.

( 1 ) When did you find out your test score ( 2 ) Mr. Peterson drove quickly across town

( 3 ) May I have a clean plate ( 4 ) The water is overflowing in the bathroom

( 5 ) Tell grandma that we miss her ( 6 ) Should we start packing when the sun comes up

( 7 ) Tell me where you found those coins ( 8 ) Get out of that bed right now

( 9 ) Which sentence is imperative?

a. When will the store open today
b. Slow down before you get into an accident
c. Joseph had no idea someone was watching him

(10) Which sentence is interrogative?

a. How many students are in your class
b. The boys ran across the field
c. I was tempted to take the last slice of pizza
Choose the type of each sentence.

(11) Move the boxes into that corner as soon as you can
a. declarative b. interrogative c. imperative d. exclamatory

(12) Will we be able to get home before the sun goes down
a. declarative b. interrogative c. imperative d. exclamatory

(13) I grabbed a seat before the parade began

a. declarative b. interrogative c. imperative d. exclamatory

(14) Mom, Nicholas is drawing in my new book

a. declarative b. interrogative c. imperative d. exclamatory

Cambridge English Language Tute 5 Sentence Types pg. 5

Sentence Types - Explanation & Examples

There are four types of sentences in the written language. They are:

Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex Simple Sentences

Simple sentence:

A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb. It expresses a single complete thought that can stand on its
own.

In other words, an independent clause is a simple sentence.

Example:

1. The baby cried for food. ^There is a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought.

2. Professor Maple’s intelligent students completed and turned in their homework. ^ A simple sentence does
not necessarily have to be short. It can have adjectives. In this case, there are two verbs “completed” and
“turned in.” However, the sentence expresses one complete thought and therefore is a simple sentence.

3. Megan and Ron ate too much and felt sick. ^Although there are two subjects and two verbs, it is still a
simple sentence because both verbs share the same subjects and express one complete thought.

Compound Sentences:

A compound sentence has two independent clauses. An independent clause is a part of a sentence that can
stand alone because it contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.

Basically, a compound contains two simple sentences. - These independent clauses are joined by a conjunction
(for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

In other words, a compound sentence is made of two simple sentences joined by a conjunction.

Example:

1. The shoplifter had stolen clothes, so he ran once he saw the police. ^Both sides of the conjunction “so” are
complete sentences. “The shoplifter had stolen clothes” can stand alone and so can “he ran once he saw the
police.” Therefore, this is a compound sentence.

2. They spoke to him in Spanish, but he responded in English. ^This is also a compound sentence that uses a
conjunction to separate two individual clauses.
Cambridge English Language Tute 5 Sentence Types pg. 6
Complex Sentences :

A complex sentence is an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A dependent clause
either lacks a subject or a verb or has both a subject and a verb that does not express a complete thought.

A complex sentence always has a subordinator (as, because, since, after, although, when) or relative pronouns
(who, that, which).

In other words, a complex sentence is made of a simple sentence and a dependent, or

subordinate, clause.

Example:

1. After eating lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, Tim went to the gym to exercise. ^ The independent clause
is ‘Tim went to the gym to exercise.” The subordinating clause before it is dependent on the main,
independent clause. If one were to say “after eating lunch at The Cheesecake Factory,” it would be an
incomplete thought.

2. Opinionated women are given disadvantages in societies that privilege male accomplishments. ^ The
subject is “opinionated women” and the verb is “are given.” The first part of the sentence “opinionated women
are given disadvantages in societies” is an independent clause that expresses a complete thought. The
following “that privilege male accomplishments” is a relative clause that describes which types of societies.

3. The woman who taught Art History 210 was fired for stealing school supplies. ^ The dependent clause in
this sentence is “who taught Art History 210” because if removed, the rest of the sentence would stand as an
independent clause. “Who taught Art History 210” is an adjective clause that provides necessary details about
the subject, woman.

Compound-Complex Sentences:
A compound-complex sentence has two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.

So, a compound-complex sentence is made up of more than one sentence joined by a conjunction, and at
least one of those sentences is complex.

In other words, it is a compound sentence with a dependent, or subordinate clause.

Example: In these examples, the dependent, or subordinate, clause is underlined.

1. When I grow up, I want to be a ballerina, and my mom is proud of me.

2. I will get to watch television, but first, I have to clean up the dishes after we finish eating.
3. We won the game, but my uniform was muddy because it rained the entire time.
4. After our trip to the beach, school started back, and I was excited to see my friends.
5. Sarah cried when her cat got sick, but he soon got better.

Cambridge English Language Tute 5 Sentence Types pg. 7

6. The sun is shining through the clouds, so I think that we can go swimming.
Easy reference:

Simple: one independent clause

Compound: at least two independent clauses joined with a conjunction.

Complex: an independent clause and at least one or more dependent clauses joined with a subordinator.

Compound-complex: two or more independent clauses and at least one or more dependent clause joined with
conjunctions/subordinators.

Sentence Types-Exercises

The sentences in this exercise have been adapted from poems in two books by Shel Silverstein: Where the
Sidewalk Ends (HarperCollins, 1974) and Falling Up(HarperCollins, 1996).

Identify each of the following sentences as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. When you're
done, compare your responses to the correct answers.

1. I made an airplane out of stone.("Stone Airplane")

2. I put a piece of cantaloupe underneath the microscope.("Nope")

3. Oaties stay oaty, and Wheat Chex stay floaty, and nothing can take the puff out of Puffed Rice.("Cereal")

4. While fishing in the blue lagoon, I caught a lovely silverfish.("The Silver Fish")

5. They say if you step on a crack, you will break your mother's back.("Sidewalking")

6. They just had a contest for scariest mask, and I was the wild and daring one who won the contest for
scariest mask--and (sob) I'm not even wearing one.("Best Mask?")

7. My voice was raspy, rough, and cracked.("Little Hoarse")

8. I opened my eyes and looked up at the rain, and it dripped in my head and flowed into my brain.("Rain")

9. They say that once in Zanzibar a boy stuck out his tongue so far that it reached the heavens and touched a
star, which burned him rather badly.("The Tongue Sticker-Outer")

10. I'm going to Camp Wonderful beside Lake Paradise across from Blissful Mountain in the Valley of the Nice.
("Camp Wonderful")

Cambridge English Language Tute 5 Sentence Types pg. 8

11. I joke with the bats and have intimate chats with the cooties who crawl through my hair.("The Dirtiest
Man in the World")

12. The animals snarled and screeched and growled and whinnied and whimpered and hooted and howled and
gobbled up the whole ice cream stand.("Ice Cream Stop")

13. The antlers of a standing moose, as everybody knows, are just the perfect place to hang your wet and
drippy clothes.("A Use for a Moose")

14. We'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, and we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go.("Where
the Sidewalk Ends")

15. If I had a brontosaurus, I would name him Horace or Morris.("If I Had a Brontosaurus")

16. I am writing these poems from inside a lion, and it's rather dark in here.("It's Dark in Here")

17. A piece of sky broke off and fell through the crack in the ceiling right into my soup.("Sky Seasoning")

18. The grungy, grumpy, grouchy Giant grew tired of his frowny pout and hired me and Lee to lift the corners
of his crumblin' mouth.("The Smile Makers")

19. If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school.("One Inch Tall")

20. The traffic light simply would not turn green, so the people stopped to wait as the traffic rolled and the
wind blew cold, and the hour grew dark and late.("Traffic Light")

Cambridge English Language Tute 5 Sentence Types pg. 9