Sentence Structure
Sentence Types
Sentence Structure
Sentence Types
Sentence Types
• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
Basic Elements
of
Every Sentence
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
Basic Elements
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
Mary
plays tennis.
SIMPLE SENTENCE
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
Mary
plays tennis.
one subject
one predicate
Simple Sentence
Tom and Mary
Compound Subject
&
play tennis.
Simple Sentence
Tom and Mary
Compound Subject
&
play tennis and swim.
Compound Predicate
&
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
Tom and Mary play tennis.
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
and
compound predicate
Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.
Hi,
I’m Punctuation Pete!
SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
and
compound predicate
Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.
No comma before “and”
in compound
subjects and predicates!
Compound Sentence with
Coordinating Conjunctions
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
and
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
Compound Sentence
Tom
swims,
and
Mary
plays tennis.
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
FOR
AND
NOR
BUT
OR
YET
SO
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.
Clause 1
Independent
Clause 2
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
Independent
Clause 2
Independent
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS
Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.
Note: Semicolon before conjunctive
adverb and comma after conjunctive adverb!
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
Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.
Note: Place commas before and
after a conjunctive adverb
in the middle!
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
AT THE END
Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
AT THE END
Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.
Note: Place a comma before
a conjunctive adverb
at the end!
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
even though
SUBJECT
PREDICATE
Complex Sentence
Bob
is popular
even though
he
is ugly.
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
EVEN THOUGH
WHEN
BECAUSE
ADVERB CLAUSES
UNLESS
WHEREAS
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
Dependent
Clause 2
Independent
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Bob is popular even though he is ugly.
When the MAIN clause is first,
it is usually NOT
followed by a comma!
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS
Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.
When the ADVERB clause is first,
it is followed by a comma!
Compound-Complex Sentence
Mike
is popular
because
he
is good looking,
but
he
is not very happy.
COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE:
COMBINES BOTH TYPES
Mike is popular because he is good
looking, but he is not very happy.
Punctuate each clause
according to its rules!
Punctuation
Review!
SIMPLE SENTENCE
My friends and I play tennis and go bowling
every weekend.
No commas before “and” in
compound subjects and predicates!
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
Coordinating Conjunction
Men may exercise harder, but they may not
exercise as regularly as women do.
Comma before coordinating
conjunction!
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
Conjunctive Adverb
Native and nonnative English speakers have
different needs; however, some schools fail to
distinguish between these groups.
Semicolon before conjunctive
adverb
Comma after conjunctive
adverb!
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
Conjunctive Adverb--in the middle
Native and nonnative English speakers have
different needs; some schools, however, fail to
distinguish between these groups.
Semicolon after first
independent clause-Commas before and after conjunctive
adverb!
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
Conjunctive Adverb at the end
Native and nonnative English speakers have
different needs; some schools fail to distinguish
between these groups, however.
Semicolon after first
independent clause-Comma before conjunctive
adverb!
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
Adverb Clauses--Subordinating
Conjunction
People had continuous moderate
exercise when they had to hunt for food.
When main clause is first,
it is not usually followed by a comma!
COMPLEX SENTENCE:
Adverb Clauses--Subordinating
Conjunction
When people had to hunt for food, they had
continuous moderate exercise.
When the adverb clause is first,
it is followed by a comma!
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.