Download Types of Sentences “Every sentence is a clause, but not every

Types of Sentences “Every sentence is a clause, but not every clause is a sentence.”—
Josh Gillard
Definitions:
Clause: a clause is a group of related words containing a subject and a verb
Independent Clause: An independent clause is a group of words that contains a
subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is a
complete sentence.
Dependant Clause: A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a
subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause
cannot be a sentence.
A dependant clause will contain a subordinating conjunction such as because,
after, before, even though, in spite of, while, during, etc. which makes it
incomplete.
SENTENCE FRAGMENTS are incomplete thoughts, which are pretending to be real
sentences. More often than not, sentence fragments do not contain a predicate statement.
They can still include a subject and a verb, but they don’t complete a thought.
Example: Running after the bear. This is incomplete because the sentence does
not contain a subject)
Because Sara was late. This fragment is missing the second have of the sentence
to tell us what happened because Sara was late.
After 3 a.m. Seriously, What happens after 3 a.m.? And to whom does it
happen?
THE SIMPLE SENTENCE OR THE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is the basic unit of
written English. It has only one subject and a verb pair, but it may contain more than one
subject and/or more than one verb..
S V
Example: Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz. (IC)
Simple sentence with a list of verb phrases:
S V
V
Gertrude cried and fell asleep.
(this remains a simple sentence because you only have one subject & verb
pair.)
COMPOUND SENTENCES are two or more independent clauses, joined to form one
sentence with some form of punctuation used between them – so recognizing the
independent clause(s) is again essential.
•Each compound sentence consists of two subject and verb pairs.
•Do not confuse a list of verb phrases with a compound sentence.
Examples:
Compound sentences are most
S V
S V
frequently connected by a comma & a
I went to the store, and I bought three
coordinating conjunction.
gallons of milk.
Coordinating Conjunctions:
For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So
S V
S V
I was tired, so I went to bed.
Not a compound sentence
S
V
V
We went to the park and ran all day.
This contains one subject with a list of
two verbs.
Complex sentences: Contain both an independent and a dependent clause.
•If the dependent clause precedes the independent clause, set it off with a comma.
DC
IC
Example: Because Gertrude ate a lizard, she died.
•If the dependent clause comes after the independent clause, no punctuation is
required:
IC
DC
Example: Gertrude died because she ate a lizard.
Remember!
-Just because you see a subordinating conjunction, it does not mean it is a
complex sentence.
S V
Example: Because of my sister, I was late.
(There is only one subject and one verb, so it is a simple
sentence)
-Just because you see a coordinating conjunction, does not mean it is a compound
sentence.
S V
V
Example: I went to the store and bought three loaves of bread.
(There is only one subject and a list of verb phrases.)