Sentence Structure

Sentence Types

Sentence Structure

Sentence Types

Sentence Types

• Simple

• Compound

• Complex

Basic Elementsof

Every Sentence

SUBJECT PREDICATE

Basic Elements

Mary plays tennis.

SUBJECT PREDICATE

SIMPLE SENTENCE

Mary plays tennis.

SUBJECT PREDICATE

one subject one predicate

Simple Sentence

play tennis.Tom and Mary

Compound Subject

&

Simple Sentence

play tennis and swim.Tom and Mary

Compound Subject Compound Predicate

& &

SIMPLE SENTENCEwith compound subject

Tom and Mary play tennis.

SIMPLE SENTENCEwith compound subject

andcompound predicate

Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

Hi,I’m Punctuation Pete!

SIMPLE SENTENCEwith compound subject

andcompound predicate

No comma before “and” in compound

subjects and predicates!

Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

Compound Sentence withCoordinating Conjunctions

SUBJECT PREDICATE

SUBJECT PREDICATE

and

Compound Sentence

Tom swims,

Mary plays tennis.

and

COMPOUND SENTENCE:COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

FOR

AND

NOR

BUT

OR

YET

SO

Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.

COMPOUND SENTENCE:COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

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

HOWEVER

OTHERWISE

THEREFORE

COMPOUND SENTENCE:CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

Clause 1 Clause 2

Independent Independent

COMPOUND SENTENCE:CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

Note: Semicolon before conjunctiveadverb and comma after conjunctive adverb!

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

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

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:IN THE MIDDLE

Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:IN THE MIDDLE

Note: Place commas before and after a conjunctive adverb

in the middle!

Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:AT THE END

Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:AT THE END

Note: Place a comma before a conjunctive adverb

at the end!

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

Matt has benefited from his exercise program; he is slim and energetic.

Complex Sentence

SUBJECT PREDICATE

SUBJECT PREDICATE

even though

Complex Sentence

Bob is popular

he is ugly.

even though

COMPLEX SENTENCE:SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

EVEN THOUGH

WHEN

BECAUSE

UNLESS

WHEREAS

ADVERB CLAUSES

COMPLEX SENTENCE:SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Bob is popular even though he is ugly.

Clause 1 Clause 2

Independent Dependent

COMPLEX SENTENCE:SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.

Clause 1 Clause 2

Dependent Independent

COMPLEX SENTENCE:SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

When the MAIN clause is first, it is usually NOT

followed by a comma!

Bob is popular even though he is ugly.

COMPLEX SENTENCE:SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

When the ADVERB clause is first, it is followed by a comma!

Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.

Compound-Complex Sentence

Mike is popular

he is good looking,

because

he is not very happy.

but

COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE:COMBINES BOTH TYPES

Punctuate each clause according to its rules!

Mike is popular because he is good looking, but he is not very happy.

PunctuationReview!

No commas before “and” in compound subjects and predicates!

My friends and I play tennis and go bowling every weekend.

SIMPLE SENTENCE

Comma before coordinating conjunction!

Men may exercise harder, but they may not exercise as regularly as women do.

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

Coordinating Conjunction

Semicolon before conjunctive adverb

Comma after conjunctiveadverb!

Native and nonnative English speakers have different needs; however, some schools fail to distinguish between these groups.

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

Conjunctive Adverb

Semicolon after first independent clause--

Commas before and after conjunctiveadverb!

Native and nonnative English speakers have different needs; some schools, however, fail to distinguish between these groups.

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

Conjunctive Adverb--in the middle

Semicolon after first independent clause--

Comma before conjunctiveadverb!

Native and nonnative English speakers have different needs; some schools fail to distinguish between these groups, however.

COMPOUND SENTENCE:

Conjunctive Adverb at the end

When main clause is first, it is not usually followed by a comma!

People had continuous moderate exercise when they had to hunt for food.

COMPLEX SENTENCE:

Adverb Clauses--Subordinating Conjunction

When the adverb clause is first, it is followed by a comma!

When people had to hunt for food, they had continuous moderate exercise.

COMPLEX SENTENCE:

Adverb Clauses--Subordinating Conjunction

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.