Sentence Structure

Simple, Compound, Complex & Compound & Complex

Course Coordinator: Muhammad Fayyaz Awan

Course: ENG: 301: English-A (Functional English)
Class: Doctor of Pharmacy Semester I
Institute: Sohail University
 Objectives:

At the end of the session participants will be able to:

 Define sentence and simple sentence
 Explain the elements of a sentence
 Define compound sentence and its conjunctions
 Describe the conjunctions used in complex
sentences
 Identify the structure of compound-complex
 Sentence Types

• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
• Compound-Complex
 The Simple Sentence

What is a sentence?
• A group of words with a subject, a verb and a
complete idea.
• We are attending English class.
• They operate their computers.

What is a simple sentence?

• A sentence with one subject and one main verb.
• All of the employees and their husbands or
wives enjoyed the annual dinner at the hotel.
 Basic Elements of Every Sentence

SUBJECT PREDICATE
 Basic Elements

SUBJECT PREDICATE

Mary plays tennis.

 Simple Sentence
• A simple sentence has one subject and one
predicate.
– Subject:
• The subject of a sentence or clause is the part of the sentence or clause
about which something is being said. It is usually the doer of the action.
– Clause:
• A group of words containing a subject and predicate and functioning
as a member of (complex/compound/compound complex setences)
– Predicate:
 Is the part of a sentence or clause containing a verb and stating
something about the subject. (Verb+ object)
 Simple Sentence

Observe how a simple sentence is

constructed:

We went to the Super Market yesterday.

 Simple Sentence

Pronoun Verb Prepositional phrase

We went to the Super Market.

Simple subject Complete predicate

 Simple Sentence

SUBJECT PREDICATE

Mary plays tennis.

one subject one predicate

 Simple Sentence

Tom and Mary play tennis.

Compound Subject

&
 Simple Sentence

Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

Compound Subject Compound Predicate

& &
 Simple Sentence
with Compound Subject

Tom and Mary play tennis.

 Simple Sentence
with Compound Subject
and
Compound
Predicate

Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

Compound Sentence
 Compound Sentence
• A compound sentence has more than one part
that can stand alone (independent clauses).

• Independent clauses are connected by

coordinating conjunctions (FANBOYS),
conjunctive adverbs (moreover, therefore etc)
or a semi-colon (;).
Compound Sentence

We went to San Juan, and

most of us danced all night.

 Compound Sentence

Subject Verb Prepositional phrase

We went to San Juan,

Predicate
Coordinating Conjunction

and most of us danced all night .

Subject Modifying phrase
Verb
 Compound Sentence

Use of Coordinating Conjunctions

SUBJECT PREDICATE

SUBJECT PREDICATE
Compound Sentence
Tom swims,

and

Mary plays tennis.

 Compound Sentence:
Coordinating
Conjunctions
FANBOYS:
FOR
AND
NOR
BUT
OR
YET
SO
 Compound Sentence:
Coordinating Conjunctions

Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
 Compound Sentence:
Coordinating Conjunctions

Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.

Comma before “and” in compound

sentences!
Compound Sentence:
Conjunctive Adverbs
Moreover Consequently In addition However Otherwise Theref
 Compound Sentence:
Conjunctive Adverbs

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
 Compound Sentence:
Conjunctive Adverbs

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

Note: Semicolon
before conjunctive
adverb and comma
after conjunctive adverb!
 Conjunctive Adverbs “float”

• 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.
 Conjunctive Adverb:
at the Beginning, in the Middle, at
the End

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

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

• “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).
 Compound Sentence:
Semicolon

Tom has benefited from his exercise

program; he is slim and energetic.
Complex Sentence
 Complex Sentence

• A complex sentence has at least two parts:

one that can stand alone and another one
that cannot stand alone

• The part that cannot stand alone is linked to

the rest of the sentence by a subordinating
conjunction
 Complex Sentence

Since my boyfriend and I wanted to have fun,

we went to San Juan yesterday.

 Complex Sentence

Since we wanted to have fun,

Subordinating Part that cannot stand alone

Subject
Conjunction we went to San Juan Predicateyesterday.
 Complex Sentence

SUBJECT PREDICATE

even though

SUBJECT PREDICATE
 Complex Sentence

Bob is popular

even though

he is ugly.
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING
CONJUNCTIONS
After who Until
Although if Unless
As where as if
in order that When as long as
Whenever as much as so that
now that whereas That
wherever as though Since
While because though
Before even if even though
 Complex Sentence:
Subordinating

Bob is popular even though he is ugly.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Dependent
 Complex Sentence:
Subordinating

Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Dependent Independent
Compound-Complex Sentence
 Compound-complex Sentence
• This type of sentence has more than one
part that can stand alone, and at least one
part that cannot stand alone.

• Conjunctions link the different parts of this

sentence.
 Compound-Complex Sentence

Since we wanted to have fun,

my boyfriend and I went to

and we danced all night. San
Juan yesterday,
 Compound-Complex Sentence
Subordinatin Since we wanted to have fun,
g
Part that cannot stand alone

my boyfriend and I went to San Juan,

Subject
Coordinating Conjunction Predicate
and we danced all night.
Compound-Complex Sentence

Mike is popular

because

he is good looking,

but

he is not very happy.

 Exercises

Say if the following sentences are:

Simple, compound, complex or
compound-complex.
1. The bell rang.
2. Bridget ran the first part of the race, and
Tara biked the second part.
3. He stands at the bottom of the cliff while
the climber moves up the rock.
4. The skier turned and jumped.
5. Naoki passed the test because he
studied hard and understood the
material.
 Answers

1. Simple
2. Compound
3. Complex
4. Simple
5. Complex
1. Because Kayla has so much climbing experience
, we asked her to lead our group.
2. You and I need piano lessons.
3. I planned to go to the hockey game, but I
couldn’t get tickets.
4. Dorothy likes white water rafting, but she also
enjoys kayaking.
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.
 Answers
1. Complex
2. Simple
3. Compound
4. Compound
5. Compound-complex
 Now Do This
1. Mary went to the park, but John stayed at
home.
2. Tom wanted to exercise, so he went for a
walk.
3. The dog that ate my homework is sick.
4. Mary likes reading; John likes television.
5. Bill is the one who usually sits here.
 Answers

1. Compound

2. Compound

3. Complex

4. Compound

5. Complex
1. When the movie was over, we went to Moo
Moos for ice cream, but my favourite flavour
was all gone.
2. John who sits behind me is on the basketball
team.
3. While we were away, the girl who was looking
after our cat discovered that she had an allergy to
them.
4. You can study now or pray later.
5. All that glitters is not gold.
1. Compound-Complex

2. Complex

3. Complex

4. Simple

5. Complex
1. The teacher walked into the classroom, greeted the
students, and took attendance.

2. Juan played football while Jane went shopping.

3. Juan played football, yet Jim went shopping.

4. Although Mexico has a better team, they lost the tournament,

and their more aggressive style did not pay off.

5. The island was filled with many trails winding through the
thick underbrush, a small lake, and dangerous wild animals.

6. Naoki passed the test because he studied hard, but

Stacy did not understand the material.
 Answers
• Simple
• Complex
• Compound
• Compound-complex
• Simple
• 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.