Types of Sentences

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence is a sentence made up of two independent clauses connected with a coordinating conjunction.

Let’s take a look at the following sentence:

Joe waited for the bus, but it never arrived.

If you take a close look at this compound sentence, you will see that it is made up of two independent clauses:

1. Joe waited for the bus
2. it never arrived

The word but is the coordinating conjunction that connects these two sentences. Notice that the coordinating conjunction has a comma right before it. This is the proper way to punctuate compound sentences.

Here are other examples of compound sentences:

FOR EXAMPLE
I want to try out for the baseball team, and I also want to try out for track.
Sally can play the clarinet in the band, or she can play the violin in the orchestra.

Mr. Henry is going to run the half marathon, so he has a lot of training to do.

All these sentences are compound sentences since they each have two independent clauses joined by
a comma and a coordinating conjunction.

The following is a list of coordinating conjunctions that can be used in compound sentences. You can use the mnemonic device “FANBOYS” to help you remember them:

For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So

Think back to Section 1: Simple Sentences. You learned about run-ons. Another way to fix run-ons is by turning the group of words into a compound sentence:

RUN-ON: Gregory is a very talented actor he was the lead in the school play.

FIX: Gregory is a very talented actor, so he was the lead in the school play.

Complex Sentences

A complex sentence is a sentence that is made up of an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses connected to it.

Think back to Section 1 when you learned about fragments. You learned about a dependent clause, the part of a sentence that cannot stand by itself. These clauses need other information to make them complete.

You can recognize a dependent clause because they always begin with a subordinating conjunction. These words are a key ingredient in complex sentences.

Here is a list of subordinating conjunctions:

Let’s take a look at a few complex sentences:

FOR EXAMPLE

Since the alarm clock didn’t go off, I was late for class.

This is an example of a complex sentence because it contains:

A dependent clause:

Since the alarm clock didn’t go off

An independent clause:

I was late for class

A subordinating conjunction:

since

Sarah studied all night for the exam even though she did not receive an A.

This is an example of a complex sentence because it contains:

A dependent clause:

even though she did not receive an A

An independent clause:

Sarah studied all night

A subordinating conjunction:

even though

*NOTE: To make a complex sentence, you can either start with the dependent clause or the independent
clause. When beginning with the dependent clause, you need a comma after it. When beginning with an
independent clause, you do not need a comma after it.

Parallel Structure

Parallel structure is the repetition of a grammatical form within a sentence to make the sentence sound more harmonious. Parallel structure comes into play when you are making a list of items. Stylistically, you want all the items in the list to line up with each other to make them sound better.

Let’s take a look at when to use parallel structure:

1. Use parallel structure with verb forms:

   In a sentence listing different verbs, you want all the verbs to use the same form:

   Manuel likes hiking, biking, and mountain climbing.

   In this example, the words hiking, biking and climbing are all gerunds (having an -ing ending), so the sentence is balanced since the words are all using the gerund form of the verb.

   Manuel likes to hike, bike, and mountain climb.

   In this example, the words hike, bike and climb are all infinitives (using the basic form of the verb), so the sentence is balanced.

   You do not want to mix them up:

   Manuel likes, hiking, biking, and to mountain climb.

   This sentence does not use parallel structure since hiking and biking use the gerund form of the verb and to mountain climb uses the infinitive form.

2. Use parallel structure with active and passive voice:

   In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject performs the action:

   Sally kicked the ball.

   Sally, the subject, is the one doing the action, kicking the ball.

   In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject is acted on by the verb.

   The ball was kicked by Sally.

   When using parallel structure, you want to make sure your items in a list are either all in active voice:

   Raymond baked, frosted, and decorated the cake.

   Or all in passive voice:

   The cake was baked, frosted, and decorated by Raymond.

   You do not want to mix them up:

   The cake was baked, frosted, and Raymond decorated it.

   This sentence does not use parallel structure because it starts off with passive voice and then switches to active voice.

3. Use parallel structure with the length of terms within a list:

   When making a list, you should either have all short individual terms or all long phrases.

   Keep these consistent by either choosing short, individual terms:

   Cassandra is bold, courageous, and strong.

   Or longer phrases:

   Cassandra is brave in the face of danger, willing to take risks, and a force to be reckoned with.

   You do not want to mix them up:

   Cassandra is bold, courageous, and a force to be reckoned with.

   This sentence does not use parallel structure because the first two terms are short, and the last one is a longer phrase.

Let’s Review!

• A simple sentence consists of a clause, which has a single subject and a predicate.
• A compound sentence is made up of two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction.
• A complex sentence is made up of a subordinating conjunction, an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses connected to it.
• Parallel structure is the repetition of a grammatical form within a sentence to make the sentence sound more harmonious.