Study the following sentences. Identify them as simple, compound or complex.
Sentence Structure: The Fab Four
Sentences
·
Sentence
Structure: The Fab Four
In Clauses, you learned
that there are two types of clauses: independent and dependent. Recall that
independent clauses are complete sentences because they have a subject and verb
and express a complete thought. Dependent clauses, in contrast, cannot stand
alone because they do not express a complete thought—even though they have a
subject and a verb. Independent and dependent clauses can be used in a number
of ways to form the four basic types of sentences: simple, compound, complex,
and compound-complex. Time to make their acquaintance.
Simple Sentences: Simple Isn't as Simple Does
A simple
sentence has one independent clause. That means it has one subject and
one verb—although either or both can be compound. In addition, a simple
sentence can have adjectives and adverbs. What a simple sentence can't have is
another independent clause or any subordinate clauses. For example:
You Could Look
It Up
A simple
sentence has one independent clause.
- Americans love eating bananas.
·
one
subject, one verb
- David Letterman and Jay Leno host talk shows.
·
compound
subject, one verb
- My son toasts and butters his bagel.
·
one
subject, compound verb
Don't shun the
simple sentence—it's no simpleton. The simple sentence served Ernest Hemingway
well; with its help, macho man Ernie snagged a Nobel Prize in Literature. In
the following excerpt from The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway uses the
simple sentence to convey powerful emotions:
·
The driver started up the street. I settled
back. Brett moved close to me. We sat close against each other. I put my arm
around her and she rested against me comfortably. It was very hot and bright,
and the houses looked sharply white. We turned out onto the Gran Via.
·
“Oh, Jake,” Brett said, “we could have had
such a damned good time together.”
·
Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki
directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly pressing Brett
against me.
·
“Yes,” I said. “Isn't it pretty to think so?”
Okay, so it's a
real downer. You think they give Nobels for happy talk?
Compound Sentences: Compound Interest
You Could Look
It Up
A compound
sentence consists of two or more independent clauses.
A compound
sentence consists of two or more independent clauses. The independent
clauses can be joined in one of two ways:
- With a coordinating conjunction: for, and, nor, but, or,
yet, so
- With a semicolon
(;)
As with a
simple sentence, a compound sentence can't have any subordinate clauses. Here are some compound sentences for
your reading pleasure.
Independent Clause
|
Conjunction or Semicolon
|
Independent Clause
|
Men are mammals
|
and
|
women are femammals.
|
Mushrooms grow in damp places
|
so
|
they look like umbrellas.
|
The largest mammals are found in the sea
|
;
|
there's nowhere else to put them.
|
You might also
add a conjunctive adverb to this construction, as in this example: The largest
mammals are found in the sea; after all, there's nowhere else to put them.
Complex Sentences: Not So Complex at All
A complex sentence
contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. The
independent clause is called the “main clause.” These sentences use
subordinating conjunctions to link ideas. As you check out these examples, see
if you can find the subordinating conjunctions.
- Parallel lines never meet (independent clause) until (subordinating
conjunction) you bend one of them (dependent clause).
- Many dead animals of the past changed to oil (independent clause)
while (subordinating conjunction) others preferred to be gas (dependent
clause).
- Even though (subordinating conjunction) the sun is a star (dependent
clause), it knows how to change back to the sun in the daytime (independent
clause).
The
subordinating conjunctions are until, while, and even though.
Compound-Complex Sentences: The Big Kahuna
A
compound-complex sentence has at least two independent clauses and at least one
dependent clause. The dependent clause can be part of the independent clause. For instance:
|
the lakes dry up,
|
·
dependent
clause
|
independent
clause
|
·
and farmers know the crops will fail.
|
|
·
independent
clause
|
|
|
but I couldn't
|
·
independent
clause
|
independent
clause
|
·
until the mechanic repaired my car.
|
|
·
dependent
clause
|
The Choice Is
Yours
Decisions,
decisions: Now that you know you have four different sentence types at your
disposal, which ones should you use? Effective communication requires not only
that you write complete sentences, but also that you write sentences that say
exactly what you mean. Try these six guidelines as you decide which sentence
types to use and when:
Danger, Will
Robinson
Don't join the
two parts of a compound sentence with a comma—you'll end up with a type of
run-on sentence called acomma splice. More on this
later in this section.
- Every sentence should provide clear and complete information.
- Most effective sentences are concise, conveying their meaning in as
few words as possible.
- Effective sentences stress the main point or the most important
detail. In most cases, the main point is located in the main clause to
make it easier to find.
- Your choice of sentences depends on your audience. For
example, you would use simple sentences and short words if your readers were
children, while an audience of engineers would call for more technical
language and longer sentences.
- Always consider your purpose for writing before
you select a sentence type.
- The rhythm and pacing of your writing is determined by your
sentences.
Before you
shift into panic mode, you should know that most writers use a combination of
all four sentence types to convey their meaning. Even Ernest Hemingway slipped
a compound sentence or two in among all those simple sentences.
You Could Look
It Up
Your readers make
up your audience.
Face the Music
But now it's
time to see what's what, who's who, and where you're at with this sentence
stuff. To do so, label each of the following sentences as simple, compound,
complex, or compound-complex.
·
____ 1. If at first you don't succeed,
destroy all evidence that you tried.
·
____ 2. The hardness of the butter is
proportional to the softness of the bread.
·
____ 3. You never really learn to swear until
you learn to drive.
·
____ 4. It takes about half a gallon of water
to cook spaghetti, and about a gallon of water to clean the pot.
·
____ 5. Monday is an awful way to spend
one-seventh of your life.
·
____ 6. Genetics explains why you look like
your father and if you don't, why you should.
·
____ 7. To succeed in politics, it is often
necessary to rise above your principles.
·
____ 8. Two wrongs are only the beginning.
·
____ 9. When oxygen is combined with
anything, heat is given off, a process known as “constipation.”
·
____ 10. To steal ideas from one person is
plagiarism; to steal from many is research.
Answers
|
|
1. complex
|
6. compound-complex
|
2. simple
|
7. complex
|
3. complex
|
8. simple
|
4. compound
|
9. compound-complex
|
5. simple
|
10. compound
|
Blessings!
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