The Structure of a Sentence

Remember that every clause is, in a sense, a miniature sentence. A simple sentences contains only a single clause, while a compound sentence, a complex sentence, or a compound-complex sentence contains at least two clauses. The Simple Sentence The most basic type of sentence is the simple sentence, which contains only one clause. A simple sentence can be as short as one word: Run! Usually, however, the sentence has a subject as well as a predicate and both the subject and the predicate may have modifiers. Melt! Ice melts. The ice melts quickly. The ice on the river melts quickly under the warm March sun. Lying exposed without its blanket of snow, the ice on the river melts quickly under the warm March sun. As you can see, a simple sentence can be quite long -- it is a mistake to think that you can tell a simple sentence from a compound sentence or a complex sentence simply by its length. The Compound Sentence Simple Canada is a rich country. Still, it has many poor people. Compound compound-complex

Sentence Types I can name several conjunctive adverbs; consequently, my friends are impressed. A complex sentence is a sentence that contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. Because life is complex, we need complex sentences. (The independent clause is in blue. The dependent clause is italicized.) Example: Because people know that I am an English teacher,they make allowances for how I dress and what I say. (This sentence contains four dependent clauses. Definition A compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Because I am an English teacher, some people expect me to speak perfectly, and other people expect me to write perfectly. (The dependent clause is underlined, and the independent clauses are in blue.) Some people tell me that my grading is too tough, and others tell me that my assignments are boring. (The independent clauses are in blue. Return to grammar review Return to composition page Return to home page