Four Sentence TypesGrammar Made Clear and Simple by

Stephanie Owings

Yes, there are more than four all together, but the four most common sentence forms, and the ones I want you to think about and practice are as follows:

1. The simple sentence2. The compound sentence3. The complex sentence4. The compound complex sentence.

There are four primary ways to construct a sentence!

The simple sentence = Subject + Verb

The subject does the action.

The verb is the action.

The simple sentence…

The Simple sentence is also known as (a.k.a.) a complete sentence or an independent clause.

For example:

We drove from Connecticut to Tennessee in one day.We = (subject)drove = (verb)from Connecticut to Tennessee = (prepositional phrase)in one day = (prepositional phrase)

“the simple sentence”

The compound sentence = subject (s) + verb (v) (,) (comma) (coordinating conjunction) subject (s) + verb (v).

Another way to look at it is…

The compound sentence = a simple sentence + coordinator + simple sentence = compound

sentence.

The Compound Sentence

Since the compound sentence is made of two separate sentences, it must be separated by a comma and a coordinating conjunction word (like “and,” “or,” “nor,” “so,” “yet,” “for,” and “but”).

“compound sentence”…

A COMMA ALONE IS NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO SEPARATE TWO COMPLETE SENTENCES!!

When you use a comma to separate two simple sentences it is called a “COMMA SPLICE.” It is a grammar error.

‘comma’ and ‘coordinator’…

Compound sentence is more than one independent clause

For example:We were exhausted, but we arrived in time for my father's birthday party. We = subjectwere exhausted = past tense helping verb and a regular verb, but = comma and coordinating conjunction separating two independent clauseswe = subjectarrived = verbin time for my father’s birthday party = prepositional phrase

“compound sentence”

The complex sentence = simple sentence a.k.a. (also known as) an independent clause + dependent clause.

The complex sentence

A clause is made up of a subject + a verb.

◦ However, clauses can be independent (which means they can stand alone) or dependent (which means they need to be attached to an independent clause in order to make sense.)

What is a “clause”…

Complex sentence = one independent clause and at least one dependent clause

For example:Although he is now 79 years old, he still claims to be 65.although = subordinating conjunctionhe = subjectis = linking verbnow = adverb79 years old = subject complement (adjective), = comma indicates the separation of a dependent clause and an independent clausehe = subjectstill = adverbclaims = verb to be 65 = …

“complex sentence”

Practice writing a simple, a compound, and a compound complex sentence.

Grammar can be fun!

The compound complex sentence = a compound sentence + a complex sentence.

◦ (s + v, coordinating conjunction s + v, subordinating conjunction + s + v = compound complex sentence).

The compound complex sentence

Compound-complex = more than one independent clause and at least one dependent clause

For example:

After it was all over, my dad claimed he knew we were planning something, but we think he was really surprised.“After it was all over” = dependent clause“my dad claimed he knew we were planning something” = independent clause“, but” = comma and a coordinating conjunction“we think he was really surprised” = independent clause

“compound complex sentence”

Don’t take my word for it. Look up the four sentence types in your text book, Grammar Resource Website or go to My Writing Lab.

For further information…