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Writing Sentences
In order to compose high-quality, formal English, the author needs a solid understanding of the four types of
sentence construction. The four categories are: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. The easiest way to
understand these four classifications is to first know about dependent and independent clauses.
As you may already know, a sentence must contain a subject and a verb and express a complete thought. A
clause contains a subject and a verb. There are two groups of clauses: dependent clauses and independent clauses. A
dependent clause contains a subject and a verb, but it does not express a complete thought. Therefore, it can’t be a
sentence. It must be connected to an independent clause in order to be grammatically correct. It will help if you remember
the definition of ‘dependent’. A newborn is the perfect example of someone who is dependent. The ‘little one’ is unable to
function of his/her own. There must be an independent caregiver (parent) to provide the necessities. So it is with the
dependent clause. If used properly, the dependent clause has to be joined with an independent clause.
The following are examples of dependent clauses:
After Mary completed her homework assignments,
Because the afternoon thunderstorm caused so many traffic accidents,
As the family bills continued to mount,
While the registered nurse began to administer the inoculation,
Since all of my friends decided to take a break from their studies,
Before Jose closed the department store for the weekend,
As you can see, each of these examples is not a complete thought. When you read a dependent clause, it is
clearly not complete. It is missing the rest of the message. It’s like you receive only a part of the picture. You are left
‘hanging’, waiting for the ‘rest of the story’.
Now if we add an independent clause to complete the thought, you are no longer left ‘hanging’. Read the following
corrected sentences:
After Mary completed her homework assignments, she rewarded herself with a chocolate cookie.
Because the afternoon thunderstorm caused so many traffic accidents, it took an extra twenty minutes to get home.
There are four examples remaining. You add an independent clause to each one. Keep in mind, your goal is to
produce a sentence that has a complete thought.
Did you notice that I underlined some words in the previous illustrations? Each of the underlined words is a
subordinating conjunction. A comma was also placed at the end of the dependent clause. Also, each of the corrected
sentences is a complex sentence. The following are more subordinating conjunctions: if, although, when, and until. Using
each one, repeat each step that we just covered and compose more examples.
Our first of four sentence types is the simple sentence. It may help if you think of an independent clause as a
simple sentence. That makes sense since an independent clause is one that has a subject, verb, and complete thought.
Isn’t that also the definition of a sentence? So, a simple sentence is the most basic of the sentence types.
Here are a few examples:
Sherry’s favorite college course is calculus.
William was very nervous on the day of his wedding.
I sent my car payment a week early.
Most physicians recommend sunscreen for your skin.
Using the following subject | verb combinations, you compose a simple sentence for each:
Subject: taxes
Verb: increased
__________
Subject: child
Verb: screamed
__________
Subject: fish
Verb: jumped
__________
Subject: student
Verb: wrote
A word of caution: a simple sentence can have multiple subjects and/or multiple verbs.
Multiple subjects:
Bill, Carroll, and Mohammed drove to the shopping mall in the new Chevy convertible.
Football, soccer, and tennis are my preferred physical activities.
Multiple verbs:
The poodle barked and growled at the neighbor’s cat.
Each of the children ran and shouted in the city park.
The second kind of sentence is the compound sentence. It is made up of two independent clauses. There are two
possible methods of punctuating a compound sentence. You can use a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, or, for,
nor, but, so, or yet), or you can use a semicolon.
Here a comma and a coordinating conjunction are employed:
Carey did not like the movie, and he thought seriously about whether to simply walk out of the theater.
Here is the same message using only a semicolon for punctuation:
Carey did not like the movie; he thought seriously about whether to simply walk out of the theater.
A semicolon is a stronger punctuation mark than a simple comma. That is why the comma must be coupled with a
coordinating conjunction, while the semicolon is sufficient by itself.
Using the following pairs of independent clauses, construct the two kinds of compound sentences:
Judy disliked the taste of the chef’s sandwich
She continued eating it nonetheless
__________
Food prices have increased dramatically
There seems to be no end in sight
__________
Our favorite football team was five touchdowns behind
We decided to go ahead and leave early
The third category of sentence is the complex sentence. This type combines a dependent clause with an
independent clause. You’ll remember the dependent clause is not a complete thought and begins with a subordinating
conjunction. If the dependent clause comes first; punctuate with a comma. If the dependent clause follows the independent
clause, no punctuation is necessary.
These examples have the dependent clause to begin the sentence, so each one uses a comma:
While Johnny washed the family’s laundry, Jenny mowed the lawn and waxed the truck.
Because the wind was blowing so hard, Jimmy decided to stay indoors and read his new magazine.
These examples have the dependent clause at the end of the sentence, so no punctuation is used:
Jenny mowed and waxed the truck while Johnny washed the family’s laundry.
Jimmy decided to stay indoors and read his new magazine because the wind was blowing so hard.
Dependent and independent clauses follow for you to use in writing the two types of complex sentences:
Because the weather was so hot and humid
Every practice soccer game had to be rescheduled
__________
While the traffic light was red
I quickly checked my purse for some chewing gum
__________
When it is time to register for college classes
Make certain your vehicle is in sound working order
The last type of sentence is the compound-complex sentence. We have already discussed each component in this
type – the complex sentence joined with the compound sentence. The middle independent clause is usually ‘shared’ by
each of the sentences. The ‘shared’ portion is underlined in the examples that follow.
The following examples have a dependent clause, an independent clause, and a second independent clause:
After our huge Thanksgiving dinner, we decided to play poker, and my grandmother was the big winner.
Because of the negative economic news, the stock market dropped one hundred points, and housing starts declined.
Use the following components and construct your own compound-complex sentences:
Since Bill’s hours at his job have been reduced
He had to sell his motorcycle to pay his rent
He has been looking for some part-time work
__________
Because Betty has not had much energy the last few months
She started taking several vitamin supplements
It hasn’t boosted her energy level in the least
__________
If your first test score is quite low
Your problem might be a poor study environment
That would be the first thing to examine
Now that we have covered the different types of clauses and sentences, spend time writing several illustrations of
each. One successful approach is to memorize an uncomplicated example. When unsure of a sentence you have written,
you can compare it with your memorized version for verification.