Sentence Structure:

Sentence Types
 Sentence Types

• Simple
• Compound
• Complex
• Compound-Complex
Basic Elements of Every Sentence

SUBJECT PREDICATE
 Basic Elements

SUBJECT PREDICATE

Maaz plays tennis.

 Simple Sentence
A simple sentence contains only one independent
clause.(In grammar, a clause is the smallest
grammatical unit that can express a complete
proposition. A typical clause consists of a subject
and a predicate, where the predicate is typically a
verb phrase)
An independent clause is a group of words (with a
subject and a verb) that expresses a complete
thought.
 Simple Sentence
• A simple sentence has one subject and one

predicate.

• Subject: the action performed by someone is

called subject.

• Predicate: the sentence after the subjects till

the end is predicate.

 Simple Sentence

Observe how a simple sentence is constructed:

We went to press club yesterday.

 Simple Sentence

Pronoun Verb Prepositional phrase

We went to press club .

Simple subject Complete predicate

 SIMPLE SENTENCE

SUBJECT PREDICATE

Nasir takes walk in morning.

one subject one predicate

 Simple Sentence

Maaz and Zainab play tennis.

Compound Subject
 Simple Sentence

play tennis and swim.

Maaz and Zainab

Compound Subject Compound Predicate

 SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject

Maaz and Zainab play

tennis.
 SIMPLE SENTENCE
with compound subject
and
compound predicate

Maaz and Zainab play tennis

and swim.
 Compound Sentence
A compound sentence contains at least two
independent clauses. These clauses are
joined by a coordinating conjunction or a
semicolon.

A coordinating conjunction is a word that

glues words, phrases, or clauses together.
 Compound Sentence
• A compound sentence has more than one
part that can stand alone (independent
clauses).

• Independent clauses are connected by

coordinating conjunctions, conjunctive
adverbs or a semi-colon.
Compound Sentence

We went to press club, and

most of us walked all night.

 Compound Sentence
Subject Verb Prepositional phrase

We went to press club,

Predicate
Coordinating
Conjunction
and most of us walked all night .

Subject Verb Modifying phrase

 Compound Sentence

Use of Coordinating Conjunctions

SUBJECT PREDICATE

and

SUBJECT PREDICATE
 Compound Sentence
Maaz swims,

and

Sania plays tennis.

 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

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

Maaz swims, and Maira plays

tennis.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Maaz swims, and Maira plays

tennis.
Comma before
“and”
in compound
sentences!
COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

MOREOVER
HOWEVER
OTHERWISE
THEREFORE
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

Maaz is handsome; moreover, he is

rich.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Independent
 COMPOUND SENTENCE:
CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

Maaz 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, IN THE MIDDLE,AT THE END

Maaz is handsome; moreover, he is rich.

Maaz is handsome; he is, moreover, rich.
Maaz is handsome; he is rich, moreover.
 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

Maaz has benefited from his

exercise program; he is slim and
energetic.
 Complex Sentence
A complex sentence contains a
subordinate clause and an independent
clause.

A subordinate clause is a group of words

that has a subject and a verb but does not
express a complete thought.
e.g. You washed the dishes after I ate
breakfast.
 Complex Sentence
• A complex sentence has at least two
parts: one that can stand alone and
another one that cannot

• The part that cannot stand alone is linked

to the rest of the sentence by a
subordinating conjunction
 Complex Sentence

Since my friend and I wanted to have fun,

we went to cinema yesterday.

 Complex Sentence

Since we wanted to have fun,

Subordinating Part that cannot stand alone

Conjunction

Subject Predicate

we went to cenima yesterday.

 Complex Sentence

SUBJECT PREDICATE

even though

SUBJECT PREDICATE
 Complex Sentence

Alex is popular

even though

he is ugly.
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

The most common subordinating

conjunctions are "after," "although,"
"as," "because," "before," "how,"
"if," "once," "since," "than,"
"that," though," "till," "until,"
"when," "where," "whether,” and
while."
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Bob is popular even though he is ugly.

Clause 1 Clause 2
Independent Dependent
 COMPLEX SENTENCE:
SUBORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS

Even though Alex is ugly, he is

popular.
Clause 1 Clause 2
Dependent Independent
 Compound-Complex Sentence
A compound-complex sentence contains at
least two independent clauses and at least
one subordinate clause.
e.g. I would have purchased the cheese that
you like, but it was too expensive.
Compound-Complex Sentence
• This type of sentence has more than one
part that can stand alone, and at least one
that cannot.

• Conjunctions link the different parts of this

sentence.
 Compound-Complex Sentence

Since we wanted to have fun,

my friend and I went to cinema yesterday,

and we danced all night.

 Compound-Complex Sentence
Subordinating
Conjunction

Since we wanted to have fun,

Part that cannot stand alone

my friend and I went to cenima,

Coordinating Subject Predicate

Conjunction

and we danced all night.

Compound-Complex Sentence
Maaz is popular

because

he is good looking,

but

he is not very happy.

 Exercises

Say if the following sentences are:

Simple, compound, complex or
compound-complex.
1. The bell rang.
2. Bridget ran the first part of the race, and Tara
biked the second part.
3. He stands at the bottom of the cliff while the
climber moves up the rock.
4. The skier turned and jumped.
5. Naoki passed the test because he studied
hard and understood the material.
 Answers
1. Simple
2. Compound
3. Complex
4. Simple
5. Compound-complex
1. Because Kayla has so much climbing
experience , we asked her to lead our group.
2. You and I need piano lessons.
3. I planned to go to the hockey game, but I
couldn’t get tickets.
4. Dorothy likes white water rafting, but she
also enjoys kayaking.
5. There are many problems to solve before this
program can be used, but engineers believe
that they will be able to solve them soon.
 Answers
1. Complex
2. Simple
3. Compound
4. Compound
5. Compound-complex
 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.