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English Sentence Structure

This document discusses different types of sentences in English including simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. It provides examples and definitions for each. A simple sentence contains one independent clause. A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses joined with a conjunction. A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. The document also discusses the key parts of a sentence including subjects, verbs, objects, and prepositional phrases.

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Alina Mihaela Ciubotaru
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102 views

English Sentence Structure

This document discusses different types of sentences in English including simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. It provides examples and definitions for each. A simple sentence contains one independent clause. A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses joined with a conjunction. A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. The document also discusses the key parts of a sentence including subjects, verbs, objects, and prepositional phrases.

Uploaded by

Alina Mihaela Ciubotaru
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Sentence structure

Independent clause: An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence. It contains a


subject and a verb and is a complete idea.

o I like spaghetti.
o He reads many books.

Dependent clause: A dependent clause is not a complete sentence. It must be attached to


an independent clause to become complete. This is also known as a subordinate clause.

o Although I like spaghetti,…


o Because he reads many books,…

Subject: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that does an action. Determine the
subject in a sentence by asking the question “Who or what?”

o I like spaghetti.
o He reads many books.

Verb: Expresses what the person, animal, place, thing, or concept does. Determine the
verb in a sentence by asking the question “What was the action or what happened?”

o I like spaghetti.
o He reads many books.
o The movie is good. (The be verb is also sometimes referred to as a copula or a
linking verb. It links the subject, in this case the movie, to the complement or the
predicate of the sentence, in this case, good.)

Object: A person, animal, place, thing, or concept that receives the action. Determine the
object in a sentence by asking the question “The subject did what?” or “To whom?/For
whom?”

o I like spaghetti.
o He reads many books.

Prepositional Phrase: A phrase that begins with a preposition (i.e., in, at for, behind, until,
after, of, during) and modifies a word in the sentence. A prepositional phrase answers one
of many questions. Here are a few examples: “Where? When? In what way?”

o I like spaghetti for dinner.


o He reads many books in the library.

English Sentence Structure


The following statements are true about sentences in English:
 A new sentence begins with a capital letter.
o He obtained his degree.

 A sentence ends with punctuation (a period, a question mark, or an exclamation


point).
o He obtained his degree.

 A sentence contains a subject that is only given once.


o Smith he obtained his degree.

 A sentence contains a verb or a verb phrase.


o He obtained his degree.

 A sentence follows Subject + Verb + Object word order.


o He (subject) obtained (verb) his degree (object).

 A sentence must have a complete idea that stands alone. This is also called an
independent clause.
o He obtained his degree.

Simple Sentences
A simple sentence contains a subject and a verb, and it may also have an object and
modifiers. However, it contains only one independent clause.
Key: Yellow, bold = subject; green underline = verb, blue, italics = object, pink, regular
font =prepositional phrase
Here are a few examples:

 She read.
 She completed her literature review.
 He organized his sources by theme.
 They studied APA rules for many hours.

Compound Sentences
A compound sentence contains at least two independent clauses.  These two independent
clauses can be combined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction or with a semicolon.
Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma  or semicolon = pink, regular font;
coordinating conjunction = green, underlined
Here are a few examples:

 She completed her literature review, and she created her reference list.


 He organized his sources by theme; then, he updated his reference list.
 They studied APA rules for many hours, but they realized there was still much
to learn.

Using some compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.

Complex Sentences
A complex sentence contains at least one independent clause and at least one dependent
clause. Dependent clauses can refer to the subject (who, which) the sequence/time (since,
while), or the causal elements (because, if) of the independent clause.
If a sentence begins with a dependent clause, note the comma after this clause. If, on the
other hand, the sentence begins with an independent clause, there is not a comma
separating the two clauses.
Here are a few examples:

 Although she completed her literature review, she still needed to work on her
methods section.
o Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.

 Because he organized his sources by theme, it was easier for his readers to
follow.
o Note the comma in this sentence because it begins with a dependent clause.

 They studied APA rules for many hours as they were so interesting.
o Note that there is no comma in this sentence because it begins with an
independent clause.

 Using some complex sentences in writing allows for more sentence variety.

Compound-Complex Sentences
Sentence types can also be combined. A compound-complex sentence contains at
least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
Key: independent clause = yellow, bold; comma  or semicolon = pink, regular font;
coordinating conjunction = green, underlined; dependent clause = blue, italics

 She completed her literature review, but she still needs to work on her


methods section even though she finished her methods course last semester.
 Although he organized his sources by theme, he decided to arrange them
chronologically, and he carefully followed the MEAL plan for organization. 
 With pizza and soda at hand, they studied APA rules for many hours, and they
decided that writing in APA made sense because it was clear, concise, and
objective.

 Using some complex-compound sentences in writing allows for more sentence


variety.
 Pay close attention to comma usage in complex-compound sentences so that the
reader is easily able to follow the intended meaning.

Simple sentences:

A simple sentence has only one clause:

The children were laughing.


John wanted a new bicycle.
All the girls are learning English.

Compound sentences:

A compound sentence has two or more clauses:

(We stayed behind) and (finished the job)


(We stayed behind) and (finished the job), then (we went home)

The clauses in a compound sentence are joined by co-ordinating conjunctions:

John shouted and everybody waved.


We looked everywhere but we couldn’t find him.
They are coming by car so they should be here soon.

The common coordinating conjunctions are:

and – but – or – nor – so – then – yet

Complex sentences:

A complex sentence has a main clause and one or more adverbial clauses.


Adverbial clauses usually come after the main clause:

Her father died when she was very young


>>>
Her father died (main clause)
when (subordinating conjunction)
she was very young (adverbial clause)

She had a difficult childhood because her father died when she was very young.
>>>
She had a difficult childhood (main clause)
because (subordinating conjunction)
her father died (adverbial clause)
when (subordinating conjunction)
she was very young (adverbial clause).

Some subordinate clauses can come in front of the main clause:

Although a few snakes are dangerous most of them are quite harmless
>>>
Although (subordinating conjunction)
some snakes are dangerous (adverbial clause)
most of them are harmless (main clause).

A sentence can contain both subordinate and coordinate clauses:

Although she has always lived in France, she speaks fluent English because her
mother was American and her father was Nigerian
>>>
Although (subordinating conjunction)
she has always lived in France (adverbial clause),
she speaks fluent English (main clause)
because (subordinating conjunction)
her mother was American (adverbial clause)
and (coordinating conjunction)
her father was Nigerian (adverbial clause).

There are seven types of adverbial clauses:

Common
conjunctions

Contrast clauses  although; though; even though; while;

Reason clauses because; since; as

Place clauses where; wherever; everywhere

Purpose clauses so that; so; because + want

Result clauses so that; so … that; such … that

when; before; after; since; while; as; as soon as; by the time;
Time clauses
until
Common
conjunctions

Conditional clauses  if; unless; provided (that); as long as

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