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

Compound Subject
&

play tennis.

Simple Sentence
Tom and Mary

Compound Subject
&

play tennis and swim.

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,
Im 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
Independent

Clause 2
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
Independent

Clause 2
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
Dependent

Clause 2
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.