Simple, Compound, and Complex Sentences

Simple, Compound, and Complex SentencesWeek 5 // March 24 28, 2014BUT FIRST: Your essays!PerceiveHot debateBeginning sentences with andOrganization and supportWhat should be fixed here?First of all, its a waste of money. I quite disagree with that people think wearing uniforms is a kind of savings because students do not need to spend extra money to buy their daily clothing. However, the fact is quite a bit different. Pursuing beauty is everyones nature. When students are bound by uniforms they would like to find out some other ways to make up for it. So they will buy clothes as soon as they have a chance. While they dont have much chance to wear clothes they bought except when out of school. So for individuals, it is a kind of waste of money; for society, it is a kind of a waste of resources. Does this belong in a persuasive essay? Why or why not?The development of science and technology also can bring disasters, therefore, our brilliant ancestors invented seat belts. As early as 1885, they are pervasively used in carriages in order to prevent passengers from falling down from the carriage. In 1902s, a car race was held in NY, a racing driver used some straps to tie himself on the car to avoid hurting by high speed. Since seat belts came into being, the length of the seat belts for up to 10 million kilometers and used into more than 1 billion cars. It is the most important that seat belts saved countless lives in 40 years, proved the importance of seat belts. Simple SentencesA simple sentence consists of an independent clause, so it contains a subject and a verb. It does NOT contain either a dependent clause or another simple sentence.

Examples of simple sentences short simple sentence: The dog barked. long simple sentence: Leaning first this way and then that, the large tan dog with a wide black collar barked loudly at the full moon last night from under the lilac bush in the shadow of the north side of the house. Simple SentencesThe simple sentence may have a compound subject: The dog and the cat howled. It may have a compound verb: The dog howled and barked. It may have a compound subject and a compound verb: The dog and the cat howled and yowled, respectively.

Simple SentencesWhich one contains a compound subject? A compound verb?

Somestudentsliketo study in the mornings.JuanandArturoplayfootball every afternoon.Aliciagoesto the library andstudiesevery day.

Further Simple ExamplesExamples ofsimple sentencesinclude the following:

Joe waited for the train."Joe" = subject, "waited" = verbThe train was late."The train" = subject, "was" = verbMary and Samantha took the bus."Mary and Samantha" = compound subject, "took" = verbI looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station."I" = subject, "looked" = verbMary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon and left on the bus before I arrived."Mary and Samantha" = compound subject, "arrived" and "left" = compound verb

A Note on Simple SentencesThe use of compound subjects,compound verbs, prepositional phrases (such as "at the bus station"), and other elements help lengthen simple sentences, but simple sentences often are short. The use of too many simple sentences can make writing "choppy" and can prevent the writing from flowing smoothly.A simple sentence can also be referred to as anindependent clause. It is referred to as "independent" because, while it might be part of a compound or complex sentence, it can also stand by itself as a complete sentence.

What is this?FANBOYSFANBOYSForAndNorButOrYetSoCompound Sentences A compound sentence consists of two or more simple sentences joined by a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so): The dog barked, and the cat yowled. a semicolon: The dog barked; the cat yowled. a comma, but ONLY when the simple sentences are being treated as items in a series: The dog barked, the cat yowled, and the rabbit chewedExamples of Compound SentencesExamples ofcompound sentencesinclude the following:

Joe waited for the train,butthe train was late.I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station,butthey arrived at the station before noon and left on the bus before I arrived.Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon,andthey left on the bus before I arrived.Mary and Samantha left on the bus before I arrived,soI did not see them at the bus station.

A Note on Compound SentencesCoordinating conjunctions are useful for connecting sentences, but compound sentences often are overused. While coordinating conjunctions can indicate some type of relationship between the two independent clauses in the sentence, they sometimes do not indicate much of a relationship. The word "and," for example, only adds one independent clause to another, without indicating how the two parts of a sentence are logically related. Too many compound sentences that use "and" can weaken writing.Clearer and more specific relationships can be established through the use of complex sentences.

Complex SentencesA complex sentence consists of a combination of an independent clause and a dependent clause. An example with a relative clause as the dependent clause: The dog that was in the street howled loudly. A student who is hungry would never pass up a hamburger.

An example with a subordinating conjunction creating the dependent clause (note the various positions of the dependent clause): End: The dog howled although he was well fed. Front: Because the dog howled so loudly, the student couldn't eat his hamburger. Middle: The dog, although he was well fed, howled loudlyExamples of Dependent ClausesExamples ofdependent clausesinclude the following:because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noonwhile he waited at the train stationafter they left on the bus

Dependent clauses such as those abovecannotstand alone as a sentence, but they can be added to an independent clause to form a complex sentence.

Dependent ClausesDependent clauses begin withsubordinating conjunctions. Below are some of the most common subordinating conjunctions:

afteralthoughasbecausebeforeeven thoughifsincethoughunlessuntilwhenwheneverwhereaswhereverwhile

Examples of Complex SentencesWhenhehandedin his homework,heforgotto give the teacher the last page.Theteacherreturnedthe homeworkaftershenoticedthe error.Thestudentsare studyingbecausetheyhavea test tomorrow.Aftertheyfinished studying,JuanandMariawentto the moviesJuanandMariawentto the moviesaftertheyfinishedstudying.

Complex SentencesThe dependent clauses can go first in the sentence, followed by the independent clause, as in the following:Because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon, I did not see them at the station.While he waited at the train station, Joe realized that the train was late.After they left on the bus, Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at the train station.(Tip: When the dependent clause comes first, a comma should be used to separate the two clauses.)

Complex SentencesConversely, the independent clauses can go first in the sentence, followed by the dependent clause, as in the following:I did not see them at the station because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon.Joe realized that the train was late while he waited at the train station.Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at the train station after they left on the bus.(Tip: When the independent clause comes first, a comma shouldnotbe used to separate the two clauses.)

A Note on Complex SentencesComplex sentences are often more effective than compound sentences because a complex sentence indicates clearer and more specific relationships between the main parts of the sentence. The word "before," for instance, tells readers that one thing occurs before another. A word such as "although" conveys a more complex relationship than a word such as "and" conveys.