Download Types of Sentences

Student’s name: ________________________
Period: _______
Date: ________________
Mr. Cleon M. McLean
Department of English
Ontario High School
SENTENCES
What is a sentence? A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. A good
sentence expresses an idea clearly and directly.
Parts of a sentence-: Every sentence has two parts. One part of the sentence is the subject. The
subject answers the question Who or what did something. The other part of the sentence is the
predicate. The predicate tells something about the subject. The predicate tells What the subject
did, What the subject is, or What happened to the subject.
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2.
3.
5.
SUBJECT
Pablo
(who)
Mayra
(who)
David
(who)
The English class (what)
PREDICATE
drummed on the desk.
(what the subject did)
is president of the club.
(what the subject is)
won the boxing match.
(what happened to the subject)
acted out Romeo & Juliet.
(what the subject did)
TYPES OF SENTENCES
Simple Sentence
Definition: A simple sentence has two basic parts—subject and predicate. Sometimes a simple
sentence may have two subjects (called a compound subject) or sometimes a simple sentence may
have two verbs (called a compound verb).
Examples of simple sentences:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Bart skates.
Bart skates and reads. (compound verb)
Bart and Lisa read. (compound subject)
Bart and Lisa read and write (compound subject and compound verb)
Compound Sentence
Definition: A compound sentence is a sentence that joins two or more simple sentences, usually
with a connecting word called a conjunction (such as and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so). Typically, a
comma is used before the conjunction. Sometimes a semicolon is used (instead of a conjunction)
to connect two sentences.
Examples of compound sentences:
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Karen borrowed the book. She left it at home. (simple sentences)
Karen borrowed the book, but she left it at home. (compound sentence)
Michael needs to pass his English class. He does not like to study. (simple sentences)
Michael needs to pass his English class, yet he does not like to study. (compound sentence)
You can borrow my book. You can get one from the library. (simple sentences)
You can borrow my book, or you can get one from the library. (compound sentence)
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Student’s name: ________________________
Period: _______
Date: ________________
Mr. Cleon M. McLean
Department of English
Ontario High School
TYPES OF SENTENCES continued
Complex Sentence
Definition: A complex sentence consists of a combination of an independent clause—which can
stand on its own, and a subordinate/dependent clause—which cannot stand on its own.
NOTE: a “clause” is a distinct part of a sentence that contains both a subject and a predicate…it
can also be a phrase.
Examples of complex sentences:
NOTE: The part of the sentence NOT underlined is the independent clause:
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2.
3.
The man who stole from the old lady was arrested today.
(dependent clause)
Mr. McLean cried all day, mourning the loss of his bird, Bach. 
(dependent clause)
With a blade of grass between his lips, Huck strolled in late to class. (dependent clause)
Compound-complex Sentence
Definition: A compound-complex sentence is simply a combination of a compound sentence
and a complex sentence.
Examples of compound-complex sentences:
1. When Alma opened the door, Fifi the dog ran outside, and he never returned
home again.
2. Caesar smiled, feeling happy that today was his birthday, and he blew out the
candles.
3.
Sarah knew she would win the race, so she sprinted, holding her head up high.
4. Mrs. Mallard was free, body and soul, so she opened her arms to welcome her
new self.
5. Jesus waited almost an hour, hoping for Ana to arrive, but she was out of town.
Things to remember:
 Start each sentence with a noun (or a pronoun) oftentimes
 Capitalize the first letter of the word beginning a sentence
 Capitalize ALL proper nouns, i.e., names of people, places, and certain things
 Avoid being too wordy in any sentence (danger: run-on sentence)
 Vary your types of sentences for style in your writing 
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