ENGLISH GRAMMAR

Lesson 4
 3 Types of Sentences

• Simple/Complete sentences

• Compound sentences

• Complex sentences

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 SIMPLE/COMPLETE SENTENCES
The kids went to Jerusalem yesterday.
Time flies.
She is smart.
This sentence is simple.

• contains a single, independent clause

• one subject & one predicate

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 Compound sentences
Cats like yellow cheese, and mice like milk.
We went to TA, but our parents went to Holon.

• contains two independent clauses

• clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction.
•The most common coordinators are: for, and, nor,
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but, or, yet, so [FANBOYS].

 COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS:
ONE WORD THAT JOINS EQUAL PARTS (WORDS, PHRASES,
CLAUSES)
 For

 And

 Nor (FANBOYS)
 But

 Or

 Yet

 So

Sharon and Chris are busy.

Jim may have placed the key on the table or in his bag .
Oxygen is important, but it is not the only gas in the air .
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 FANBOYS
FANBOYS is a mnemonic device, which stands for the
coordinating conjunctions: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, and So.
These words, when used to connect two independent clauses
(two complete thoughts), must be preceded by a comma. A
sentence is a complete thought, consisting of a Subject and a
Verb.

Let’s watch this video to better understand this. Click HERE

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 COMPLEX SENTENCES
Since we wanted to have fun yesterday, we went to T.A.
We didn’t have fun yesterday although we went to T.A.

 an independent clause & a dependent clause(s).

 The dependent clause is linked to the rest of the sentence by a
subordinating conjunction.

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 SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS:
ONE WORD OR MORE USED TO JOIN A MAIN CLAUSE AND
A SUBORDINATE CLAUSE

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SUMMARY – SENTENCE TYPES:
Simple/Complete Compound
Independent clause Independent clause; (and,
but, or, so, yet)
Independent clause
I like ice-cream. I went home, but my
friend stayed at the party.
complex
Independent clause
dependent clause
OR
Dependent clause,
independent clause
You will succeed if you
study well
If you study well, you will
succeed.
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 APPENDIX: ANOTHER SENTENCE
STRUCTURE:
 Correlative conjunctions = conjunction pairs that join two
elements of a sentence.
* Below are five pairs of correlative conjunctions commonly
used in English:
 Either … or; Neither … nor; Not only … but also; Whether …
or; Both … and
 Correlative conjunctions always travel in pairs, it has a
reciprocal relationship.

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SIGNS THAT CAN HELP US DISTINGUISH
BETWEEN TYPES OF SENTENCES
 If the sentence has more than one subject + verb, it is not
simple anymore.
 The type of the conjunction can distinguish between a
compound of a complex sentence (coordinator or subordinator).
 The independence / dependence of the clauses can help us, too.

 If the sentence is translated to Hebrew with ‘that’ ( ‫מילית השעבוד‬

‫ש‬...), the sentence is complex.
:‫• הערה‬
‫ לא בטעות) מוביל למשפט‬,‫ כלומר‬,‫כל סוג של 'ש' (כאשר נדרש 'ש' כמובן‬
,‫ משפט תנאי‬,‫ משפט משלים‬:‫מורכב (כאשר יש כמה סוגים של משפטים מורכבים‬
‫ כי יש מרכיבים‬,'‫ לעיתים מתקיים משפט מורכב ללא 'ש‬,‫ אולם‬.)‫משפט זיקה‬
.‫ וכדומה‬,'‫ 'מאחר ו‬,'‫ 'כי‬,'‫ למשל 'אם‬,‫אחרים‬
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SKILLED WRITERS USE A MIX
 Simple/Complete sentences are easy to read
But can become repetitive
 Compound sentences add variety

But can become long and unwieldy

 Complex sentences provide perspective

But can be confusing

* As writers, we should be make sure NOT to write ‘run-on’

sentences (too long, no good punctuation).
LET’S PLAY

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