Sentence Structure

Sentence Types
Sentence Structure

Sentence Types
Sentence Types

• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
 Basic Elements
of
Every Sentence

SUBJECT PREDICATE
 Basic Elements

SUBJECT PREDICATE

Mary plays tennis.

 SIMPLE SENTENCE
SUBJECT PREDICATE

Mary plays tennis.

one subject one predicate

 Simple Sentence

Tom and Mary play tennis.

Compound Subject

&
 Simple Sentence

Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

Compound Subject Compound Predicate

& &
 SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject

Tom and Mary play tennis.

 SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
and
compound predicate

Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

 Hi,
I’m Punctuation Pete!
 SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
and
compound predicate

Tom and Mary play tennis and swim.

No comma before “and”

in compound
subjects and predicates!
Compound Sentence with
Coordinating Conjunctions
SUBJECT PREDICATE

and

SUBJECT PREDICATE
 Compound Sentence
Tom swims,

and

Mary plays tennis.

COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

FOR
AND
NOR
BUT
OR
YET
SO
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.

Comma before “and”

in compound
sentences!
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

MOREOVER
HOWEVER
OTHERWISE
THEREFORE
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

Note: Semicolon before conjunctive

adverb and comma after conjunctive adverb!
 Conjunctive Adverbs “float”

• Conjunctive adverbs are sometimes

called “floating” adverbs because they
can be positioned at the beginning, in
the middle, or at the end of a clause.
 CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
AT THE BEGINNING

Bob is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

 CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
IN THE MIDDLE

Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.

 CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
IN THE MIDDLE

Bob is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.

Note: Place commas before and

after a conjunctive adverb
in the middle!
 CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
AT THE END

Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.

 CONJUNCTIVE ADVERB:
AT THE END

Bob is handsome; he is rich, moreover.

Note: Place a comma before

a conjunctive adverb
at the end!
 Semicolons

• “If the relation between the ideas

expressed in the main clauses is very
close and obvious without a
conjunction, you can separate the
clauses with a semicolon” (Little, Brown
Handbook, 9th Edition, p. 361).
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
SEMICOLON

Matt has benefited from his exercise

program; he is slim and energetic.
 Complex Sentence

SUBJECT PREDICATE

even though

SUBJECT PREDICATE
Complex Sentence

Bob is popular

even though

he is ugly.
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

EVEN THOUGH
WHEN
BECAUSE
ADVERB CLAUSES
UNLESS
WHEREAS
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Bob is popular even though he is ugly.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Dependent
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Dependent Independent
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Bob is popular even though he is ugly.

When the MAIN clause is first,

it is usually NOT
followed by a comma!
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Even though Bob is ugly, he is popular.

When the ADVERB clause is first,

it is followed by a comma!
Compound-Complex Sentence

Mike is popular

because

he is good looking,

but

he is not very happy.

COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCE:
COMBINES BOTH TYPES

Mike is popular because he is good

looking, but he is not very happy.

Punctuate each clause

according to its rules!
Punctuation
Review!
 SIMPLE SENTENCE

My friends and I play tennis and go bowling

every weekend.

No commas before “and” in

compound subjects and predicates!
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
Coordinating Conjunction

Men may exercise harder, but they may not

exercise as regularly as women do.

Comma before coordinating

conjunction!
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
Conjunctive Adverb

Native and nonnative English speakers have

different needs; however, some schools fail to
distinguish between these groups.

Semicolon before conjunctive

adverb
Comma after conjunctive
adverb!
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
Conjunctive Adverb--in the middle

Native and nonnative English speakers have

different needs; some schools, however, fail to
distinguish between these groups.

Semicolon after first

independent clause--

Commas before and after conjunctive

adverb!
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
Conjunctive Adverb at the end

Native and nonnative English speakers have

different needs; some schools fail to distinguish
between these groups, however.

Semicolon after first

independent clause--

Comma before conjunctive

adverb!
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
Adverb Clauses--Subordinating
Conjunction

People had continuous moderate

exercise when they had to hunt for food.

When main clause is first,

it is not usually followed by a comma!
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
Adverb Clauses--Subordinating
Conjunction

When people had to hunt for food, they had

continuous moderate exercise.

When the adverb clause is first,

it is followed by a comma!
 References
Writing Academic English, Second Edition, by Alice
Oshima and Ann Hogue. White Plains: Addison, Wesley,
Longman, 1999.
The Little, Brown Handbook, by H. Ramsey Fowler and
Jane E. Aaron, Pearson, 2004.