Sentence Structure

​Colvin 6-8

Does NOT form a complete thought

• EX: "Jacob said."

Dependent

Forms a complete thought

• EX: "John walked home."

Independent

Clauses: Independent & Dependent

​Clauses are groups of words with a subject and verb.

Types of Sentences

There are four types of sentence structure

1. Simple Sentences: one independent clause

2. Compound sentences: two independent clauses

3. Complex sentences: one independent clause + one or more dependent clauses

4. Compound-complex sentences: two or more independent clauses + one or more dependent clauses

Simple & Compound Examples

Simple Sentences only have one independent clause:

• "Rosa woke up."

• "Tim brought pizza."

Compound Sentences have two independent clauses:

• "Maurice went grocery shopping and he cooked dinner."

• "Jocelyn wanted a nap because she had a headache."

Complex & Compound-Complex Examples

Complex sentences have an independent clause and one or more dependents:

• "Although Catherine ran to school, she didn’t get there in time."

• "You will not do well if you refuse to study."

Compound-complex sentences have two or more independents and one or more dependent:

• Since the school was closed, Sarah ran home and her mum made her some breakfast.

There are different kinds of sentence structures. Look at this image to help you.

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