Sentence Types:

Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex

Simple Sentences
- A simple sentence contains an Independent Clause.
- It expresses a single complete thought that can stand on its own.
Examples:
1. The baby cried for food.
^There is a subject and a verb that expresses a complete
thought.
2. Professor Maple’s intelligent students completed and turned
in their homework.
^ A simple sentence does not necessarily have to be short. It
can have adjectives. In this case, there are two verbs
“completed” and “turned in.” However, the sentence
expresses one complete thought and therefore is a simple
sentence.
3. Megan and Ron ate too much and felt sick.
^Although there are two subjects and two verbs, it is still a
simple sentence because both verbs share the same subjects
and express one complete thought.
Compound Sentences
- A compound sentence has two independent clauses. An
independent clause is a part of a sentence that can stand alone
because it contains a subject and a verb and expresses a complete
thought.
- Basically, a compound contains two simple sentences.
- These independent clauses are joined by a conjunction (for, and,
nor, but, or, yet, so) or by a semicolon.
Examples:
1. The shoplifter had stolen clothes, so he ran once he saw the
police.
^Both sides of the conjunction “so” are complete sentences.
“The shoplifter had stolen clothes” can stand alone and so can
“he ran once he saw the police.” Therefore, this is a compound
sentence.
2. The shoplifter had stolen clothes; he ran once he saw the
police.
3. They spoke to him in Spanish, but he responded in English.
^This is also a compound sentence that uses a conjunction to
separate two individual clauses.
4. They spoke to him in Spanish; he responded in English.

Complex Sentences
- A complex sentence is an independent clause joined by one or more
dependent clauses. A dependent clause either lacks a subject or a
verb or has both a subject and a verb that does not express a
complete thought.
- A complex sentence always has a subordinating conjunction (as,
after, although, when, while, until, before because, if, since) or
relative pronouns (who, whom, whose, which, that).
Examples:
1. After eating lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, Tim went to
the gym to exercise.
^ The independent clause is ‘Tim went to the gym to exercise.”
The subordinating clause before it is dependent on the main,
independent clause. If one were to say “after eating lunch at
The Cheesecake Factory,” it would be an incomplete thought.
2. Opinionated women are given disadvantages in societies that
privilege male accomplishments.
^ The subject is “opinionated women” and the verb is “are
given.” The first part of the sentence “opinionated women are
given disadvantages in societies” is an independent clause that
expresses a complete thought. The following “that privilege
male accomplishments” is a relative clause that describes which
types of societies.
3. The woman who taught Art History 210 was fired for stealing
school supplies.
^ The dependent clause in this sentence is “who taught Art
History 210” because if removed, the rest of the sentence would
stand as an independent clause. “Who taught Art History 210” is
an adjective clause that provides necessary details about the
subject, woman.
Compound-Complex Sentences
- A compound-complex sentence has two independent clauses and at
least one dependent clause.
Examples:
1. After the two soccer players lost their game, they joined their
other teammates for lunch, and they went to the movies.
^ If we remove the dependent clause “after the two soccer
players lost their game,” we have a compound sentence. The
dependent clause makes this sentence compound-complex.
2. The man believed in the system, and he knew that justice
would prevail after the murderer was sent to jail.