Simple Sentences B.

Objects

An object is the word affected by the verb or preposition

1. What is a Simple Sentence?
in a sentence. Objects are usually nouns or pronouns
A simple sentence is the most basic sentence that we that answer questions like “who,” “what,” “where,” and
have in English. It has just one independent clause, “when?” Here, the objects are purple.
which means only one subject and one predicate. A
 The dog ate bacon. What did the dog eat?
simple sentence is also the shortest possible sentence; it
can have as little as two words!  The dog ate bacon at the park. Where did he
eat it?
Overall, a simple sentence is exactly what it sounds like
—simple!  I took my dog to the park. Who did you take
there?
2. Examples
 We went to the park yesterday. When did you
A simple sentence can be very short, but some are long
go?
too, so long as they only have one subject-verb
combination. Here, the subjects are orange and So, you can see that the highlighted objects answer the
the verbs are green. questions above. They make the sentences more
informational than they would be without objects.
 I ate.
c. Modifiers
 I ate dinner.
A modifier is an adjective or adverb that “modifies”
 I ate dinner with my brother and sister.
other words in a sentence to make it more descriptive.
 Last night, I ate dinner at a restaurant with my They help give a clearer idea about the things in the
brother and sister. sentence. Here, the modifiers are gray. Let’s start
As you can see, even though some of these sentences with a simple sentence:
are long, each only has one subject and one verb The panda ate corn.
(one clause).
Now, let’s add modifiers:
3. Parts of Simple Sentences
The fat panda quickly ate the buttery corn.
All sentences have one main important part: an
Modifiers make the sentence more detailed. We now
independent clause. Sometimes, they also include other
know that the panda was fat, that he ate quickly, and
words, like objects and/or modifiers.
that the corn was buttery! Modifiers can make sentences
a. Independent Clause much more interesting.
An independent clause has a subject and a predicate 4. Types of Simple Sentences
and makes sense on its own as a complete sentence. In
There aren’t exactly different “types” of simple
fact, an independent clause itself is a simple sentence!
sentences, but they can be written in different ways. As
Here are a few:
mentioned, sometimes they are very short, or
 The cat ate. sometimes they include modifiers or objects that make
 He ate ice cream. them longer.

 He went to the beach. a. Simple Sentence with ONLY a Subject and a

Verb
 The wolf ate steak at the zoo.
As mentioned, simple sentences are the shortest
So, you can see that all of the clauses above work as
possible complete sentences. You can have a simple
sentences. All sentences have an independent clause,
sentence with only a simple subject and a predicate,
but all simple sentences have ONE independent clause.
using only two or three words, like this:

 I see.
  He ran. or compound-complex sentence. BUT, a simple sentence
is just simple—one subject, one predicate.
 We looked.

 They cooked.

 The dog ate.

 The baby cried.

Though only two or three words, these are all Compound Sentence
independent clauses, so they work on their own as
1. What is a Compound Sentence?
complete sentences!
A compound sentence allows us to share a lot of
b. Simple Sentence with other Objects or
information by combining two or more related thoughts
Modifiers
into one sentence. It combines two independent
Not all simple sentences are short. So long as it only has clauses by using a conjunction like “and.” This
one subject and one predicate, a simple sentence can creates sentences that are more useful than writing
actually be pretty long. Take a look at the extra words in many sentences with separate thoughts.
these examples:
Compound sentences are important because they allow
 I see you behind the cotton candy machine! us to shorten the things we say or write. They express
 He ran to the fair as fast as possible. our thoughts in a way that allows our audience to
receive information easily and quickly. Often, everything
 We ate buttery corn at the famous farmer’s we want to say can be summarized, and it is generally
market. the best choice for communicating. So remember: more
 They prepared cotton candy in an old- words don’t necessarily mean more information.
fashioned machine. 2. Examples of Compound Sentences
So, a simple sentence can use lots of modifiers and We use compound sentences all of the time. Here are
objects to add details, while at the same time only some examples, the independent clause is green, the
describing one subject doing one thing. second is purple, and the conjunctions are orange:
5. How to Avoid Mistakes  I drove to the park, and then I walked to
The most important thing to remember about simple the beach.
sentences is that they never have more than one  Mike drove to the park, and I walked to
subject or more than one predicate. In other words, the beach.
there is only one subject doing one thing. A simple
sentence CAN have a compound subject (two people Let’s take a look at the following section to find out what
using the same verb), but that’s still just one subject. is an independent clause and a conjunction.

 (WRONG) Maria went to the market 3. Parts of Compound Sentences

and bought an apple. One subject, two verbs A compound sentence has at least two independent
 (WRONG) Sandy drove to the market and the clauses and always includes a conjunction.
dog went with her. Two subjects, two verbs a. Independent Clause
 (CORRECT) Jose went to the market. One An independent clause has a subject and
subject, one verb a predicate and makes sense on its own as a complete
 (CORRECT) Maria and Jose went to the sentence. Here are a few:
market. One compound subject, one verb  The parrot ate popcorn.
When you start adding more independent or dependent  The wolf ran quickly.
clauses to a sentence, you get a compound, complex,
 He ate candy apples.
  He went to the mall. This compound sentence is the best way to share the
information from the two original sentences. Even
So, you can see that all of the clauses above are
though the boy does two different things, we can
working sentences. All sentences have an independent
explain them in one sentence because they are related
clause, but all compound sentences have at least two
to each other.
independent clauses.
Remember not to confuse this with a compound
b. Conjunction
predicate. We can also say:
A conjunction is a word in a sentence that connects
The boy  ran to the park and ate a hotdog there.
other words, phrases and clauses. The most common
conjunction that you know is “and.” Other common In this example, we don’t mention the boy twice, so we
conjunctions are for, but, or, yet,  and  so.  A compound don’t have two separate sentences. Ate a hotdog  is
sentence needs at least one conjunction to connect two only a verb phrase, so we don’t need a comma.
or more complete sentences.
Let’s try another example, again starting with two
Conjunctions are important because they let us combine sentences.
information, but still keep ideas separate so that they
Example 2:
are easy to understand. A compound sentence without a
conjunction would be a run-on sentence, and would Every morning, Shelly eats breakfast.
sound very confusing! Here are two sentences, with and After breakfast, Shelly works in her garden.
without conjunctions:
Both of these sentences describe what the subject,
The boy ran to the park then he ate a hotdog. Shelly, does every morning. Why not say this in one
The boy ran to the park,  and then he ate a hotdog. sentence?

So, you can see that we need a conjunction to for the Every morning, Shelly eats breakfast, and  then she
sentence to be clear! works in her garden.

It is important to know that the word “then” is NOT a In this example, we have two complete sentences joined
conjunction—it’s an adverb. So, when you are writing a by a coordinating conjunction, so we use a comma.
compound sentence and want to use “then”, you still But, if we eliminate the subject, we can write a sentence
need a conjunction, for example, “so then,” “but with a compound predicate:
then,” or “and then.”
Every morning,  Shelly eats breakfast  and then
4. Types of Compound Sentences works in her garden.
As mentioned, a compound sentence combines two In this example, we have two complete verb phrases, so
independent clauses. Some common formats for we don’t use a comma.
compound sentences are:
Either way, the compound sentence is much stronger
 one subject performing two different actions than two separate sentences.
 two completely different subjects doing b. When multiple subjects do the same thing:
performing actions
Example 1:
a. When one subject does more than one thing:
Yesterday  the lion went to the candy store.
Example 1:
The zebra also went to the candy store yesterday.
The boy ran to the park.
Both subjects, “the lion” and “the zebra,” went to the
The boy ate a hotdog there. candy store yesterday. So, let’s combine these things:
These sentences have the same subject, “boy,” but two Yesterday, the lion went to the candy
verbs, “ran” and “ate.” Since both sentences are about store, and  the zebra went, too.
what the boy does at the park, we can combine them:

The boy ran to the park,  and he ate a hotdog there.

Also, you should know that in contrast, combining the to make the mistake of putting things together that
subjects makes a compound subject, but NOT a have nothing to do with each other, like this:
compound sentence:
Mary went to the market yesterday and she gardens
The lion went to the candy store, and  the zebra went every morning.
too.       Compound sentence
In this sentence, the first point is that Mary went to the
The lion and the zebra went to the candy market yesterday, and the second is that she gardens
store.                       Compound subject every morning. But, these things are not related to
each other, even though they are both about Mary. It
c. When multiple subjects do multiple things:
seems like they came from two different stories. So,
Example 1: while there is nothing wrong with the grammar, this is
The girl ate cake at the party.                    Subject not a proper compound sentence because the ideas are
“girl,” verb “ate” unrelated.

The cat drank soda at the party.          Subject “cat,”

verb “drank”

Even though these two sentences are about two

different subjects doing two different things, they both
Complex Sentence
share the phrase “at the party.” Since they have this 1. What is a Complex Sentence?
information in common, we can combine them:
A complex sentence is a sentence with
At the party, the girl ate cake but  the cat drank an independent clause and a dependent clause. It is one
soda. of the four main types of sentence structures. In a
5. How to Write a Compound Sentence and Avoid complex sentence, the independent clause shares the
Mistakes main information, and the dependent clause(s) provide
details. Complex sentences let us share lots of
Compound sentences are a great tool in writing, and information with just one sentence.
come naturally in speaking. As mentioned, they exist to
help you unite multiple related ideas into one strong 2. Examples of Complex Sentences
sentence. For example, here are three simple sentences: In the examples below, independent clauses are
 The cheetah ran fast. orange and dependent clauses are green.

 She ran all the way to the movies.  When the dog went to the county fair, he ate
popcorn.
 There, she ate a hot pretzel.
 If the dog goes to the county fair,  he will eat
We really don’t need three separate sentences to share popcorn.
this information, because it’s all about the same subject.
So, let’s combine all three of the sentences above to  The dog went to the county fair after he
make one compound sentence: smelled popcorn.

The cheetah ran fast; she ran all the way to the  The dog went to the county fair when he
movies,  and there she ate a hot pretzel. smelled the popcorn.

The compound sentence still has the subject “ cheetah,” As you can see, sometimes the independent clause
but it now shares both of the things she did at the comes first, and sometimes the dependent clause comes
county fair, “ran” and “ate.” first.

Finally, it’s important to remember that compound 3. Parts of Complex Sentences

sentences combine related information. Even if you All complex sentences have one independent
follow the proper grammar pattern, it doesn’t mean you clause and one or more dependent clauses. They
can combine any old thing with another. You don’t want often also include dependent “marker” words or
coordinating conjunctions.
a. Independent Clause Now, add a dependent marker word, like “when”:

An independent clause is a clause that can exist as a When  he was at the county fair = Dependent clause
sentence on its own. It has a subject and
Here are some complex sentences with the marker
a predicate and makes sense as a complete sentence.
words underlined:
As mentioned, the independent clause shares the main
information of a complex sentence.  When  he was at the county fair,  the dog ate
popcorn.
 The dog ate popcorn.
 Though  he likes cotton candy,  the dog loves
 The dog ran quickly.
popcorn.
 He ate popcorn.
 The dog gets a stomachache  if  he eats
 He went to the county fair. popcorn.
So, you can see that all of the clauses above are  The dog went to the county fair  when  he
working sentences. All complex sentences have ONLY smelled the popcorn.
one independent clause.
Notice that when the sentence starts with a
b. Dependent (Subordinate) Clause subordinating conjunction, there is a comma at the end
of the dependent clause. When the subordinating
A dependent clause has a subject and a predicate;
conjunction is in the middle of the sentence, there is no
BUT, it can’t be a sentence. It provides extra details
comma.
about the independent clause, and it doesn’t make
sense on its own, like these: This is different from what you’ve learned with
compound sentences! So, remember when there is a
 After he went to the fair
subordinating conjunction in the middle of a sentence
 Though he ate popcorn you don’t need a comma.
 While he was at the county fair 4. How to Write a Complex Sentence
 When the dog smelled popcorn Complex sentences are very common and pretty easy to
Though all of the examples above contain subjects and write, as long as you remember their rules. When
predicates, none of them make sense. Each leaves an writing a complex sentence, you should follow these
unanswered question. By itself, a dependent clause is important guidelines:
just a fragment (an incomplete sentence). So, it needs 1. All complex sentences have an independent
to be combined with an independent clause to be a clause and a dependent clause.
sentence.
2. Complex sentences can have more than one
Complex sentences have at least one dependent clause, dependent clause.
but they can have two or more.
3. To connect independent and dependent clauses,
c. Dependent “Marker” Words/Subordinating you need dependent marker words and/or
Conjunctions subordinating conjunctions.
A dependent marker word (also called 4. Dependent marker words come at the beginning
a subordinating conjunction) goes at the beginning of a complex sentence.
of an independent clause. It turns an independent
5. When a dependent marker word comes at the
clause into a dependent clause by adding details like
beginning of a sentence, you need a comma at
time or context. Common dependent marker words
the end of the dependent clause.
include after, although, as, because, before, even if,
even though, if, since, though, unless, until, whatever, 6. When a dependent marker word comes in the
when, whenever, whether,  and  while. Let’s start with an middle of the sentence, you do not need a
independent clause: comma.

He was at the county fair = Independent clause

 If you know how to look for the separate parts of a
complex-compound sentence, you can understand their
structure more easily. We already know the basic rules:
Compound-Complex Sentence there must be at least two independent clauses and at
least one dependent clause. There are a few more
1. What is a Compound-Complex Sentence?
things to know and then you’ll be ready to write
Compound-complex sentences are the most complicated beautiful and grammatically correct compound-complex
sentences, as their name implies. A compound-complex sentences!
sentence has at least two independent clauses and at
a. Independent Clause
least one dependent clause. In simple terms,
an independent clause can be a sentence on its own An independent clause can always stand on its own
while a dependent clause cannot. as a complete sentence. That means it has
a subject and a predicate. The subject will be a noun-
Compound-complex sentences help us express longer
phrase and the predicate will be a verb-phrase and
more complicated thoughts, with more parts than other
describe the subject or what the subject is doing.
sentences. They’re good tools for explaining complicated
ideas or describing long chains of events. The independent clauses in a compound-complex
sentence are called coordinate clauses. Because they
2. Examples of compound-complex sentences
are coordinated (by a coordinating conjunction) to work
Compound-complex sentences are surprisingly common. together on equal terms within the same sentence, such
You probably see them a lot in books that you read for as in: “I came, I saw, and I conquered.”
school, and even in books that you read for fun. Here
Here are a few examples of independent clauses in
are some examples to help you understand what makes
compound-complex sentences, with the independent
a sentence a compound-complex sentence.
clauses highlighted in green. You can see that they’re
Example 1 related to each other, on more or less equal terms, that
they can be complete sentences, and that they are put
Kate doesn’t like cartoons because they are loud,
together using the coordinating
so she doesn’t watch them.
conjunctions but and and,  like some of the complex-
This sentence has two independent clauses and compound sentence you are reading now:
one dependent clause. The dependent clause “because
 Even though she was tired, Abby knew she
they are loud” cannot stand on its own as a complete
had to finish the race and she ran to meet
sentence; it is dependent. As you’ve probably figured
her team.
out, the independent clauses “Kate doesn’t like
cartoons” and “she doesn’t watch them” can  be  Usually I take a walk every day while the
complete sentences on their own. sun sets, but  it was raining today.

Example 2  She likes to sleep in but she can get up

early if she has work.
The dog started barking so  the cat ran
away  and  I couldn’t keep up,  so I stopped. The parts of these sentences that are not green are
either dependent clauses or coordinating conjunctions.
Now we’re dealing with more clauses, but they still
We’ll learn more about conjunctions soon, and
follow the same rules. The independent clauses are
dependent clauses even sooner!
complete sentences, while the dependent clause cannot
stand on its own. b. Dependent Clause

Both of these examples contain little words called The dependent clauses in compound-complex

conjunctions that link up the clauses. Read on to the sentences will not be complete sentences on their own.
next section to find out more about conjunctions and They are dependent on the other clauses of the
the other parts of a compound-complex sentence. sentence, because they don’t fully make sense without
them. Even though dependent clauses have a subject
3. Parts of a Compound-Complex Sentence
and a predicate like independent clauses, dependent
clauses do not express a complete thought, usually Coordinating conjunctions
because they are introduced by words like while,
Coordinating conjunctions connect independent clauses
if,  and because, that don’t make sense without some
and other short phrases. There are seven coordinating
words that are not part of the dependent clause.
conjunctions, and you can remember them using the
We’ll use the same examples from earlier to show acronym FANBOYS.
you dependent clauses. In general, dependent clauses
F – for
are a good way to add more information to any
sentence. A – and

Example 1 N – nor

Even though she was tired, Abby knew she had to finish B – but
the race and she ran to meet her team. O – or
In this sentence, the dependent clause “Even though Y – yet
she was tired” tells us why  Abby was having trouble
S – so
finishing the race. It doesn’t make sense without the
independent clause it depends on. The clause is also Simple enough, right? You’ll use the FANBOYS to
introduced by “Even though,” which is a subordinating connect two or more independent clauses in compound-
conjunction (you’ll learn about this in the next section). complex sentences. Here’s an example from our earlier
For now, let’s take a closer look at the second example sentences.
sentence to see how dependent clauses give us more
Example 1
information.
She likes to sleep in  but she can get up early  if
Example 2
she has work.
Usually I take a walk every day while the sun sets,
We’ve got a big, purple but  in there: that’s our
but  it was raining today.
conjunction! It links the two independent clauses in
As before, the independent clauses are green and green so that we know they’re coordinate clauses and
the dependent clause is orange. If we take out “while belong in the same sentence.
the sun sets” we can see that it isn’t a complete
Subordinating conjunction
sentence. But it does give us some interesting
information about when I take walks! It answers the A subordinating conjunction introduces a dependent
question of when, and it is introduced by the clause, so you can see how these would be useful in
subordinating word “while.” Even though we could take compound-complex sentences. There are a lot of
out the whole phrase and still have a correct sentence, subordinating conjunctions, but some common ones
we would have less information and a less interesting are if, while, and though. Let’s use the same example as
sentence. above.

c. Conjunctions Example 1

Conjunctions are those little connecting words that She likes to sleep in but she can get up early  if  she has
can put different phrases and clauses together in to work.
larger more complex sentences. In compound-complex In this example our conjunction is if. It introduces the
sentences, we use conjunctions to string together most dependent clause if she has work and it is part of the
of our independent and dependent clauses. The most clause too. It subordinates the clause making it
common conjunctions are and, or, and but. dependent.  The point being that it establishes a
There are different types of conjunctions that do relationship in which the meaning of the dependent
different things, and there are more kinds of clause depends on an independent clause, in this
conjunctions than those covered here, but these are the case, she can get up early.
important ones for compound-complex sentences. 4. How to Write Compound-Complex Sentences
So now you’re familiar with the parts of compound-  The cat sat down on top of the remote control
complex sentences, and it’s time to start putting them
 just when I was reaching for the remote control
together. This is as easy as coming up with two
sentences and one extra bit of information, and then We can easily put this one together:
using conjunctions to link them all up. Let’s create a The cat jumped onto the couch and (the cat) sat down
brand new sentence to show how they’re made. on top of the remote control just when I was reaching
Step 1: Independent clause for it.

The first independent clause of your compound-complex We might leave out the second the cat and replace the
sentence should have a strong main idea because it will second remote control  with it, because the sentence
remain one of the main points of your sentence no sounds repetitive otherwise, but it is grammatically
matter what you add to it. Let’s say I want to write a correct either way.
sentence about a cat. My independent clause might look And there it is: a compound-complex sentence! We have
like this: our two independent clauses, one dependent clause,
The cat jumped onto the couch. and conjunctions that link everything together. When
you’re out making your own compound-complex
This is a complete sentence all on its own, which is how
sentences, you can use more clauses than this as long
we know it’s a good independent clause for our
as people can still follow the sentence.
complex-compound sentence.
That brings us to our next section about how to write
Step 2: Related independent clause
the best compound-complex sentences you can.
Now we need another independent clause that is related
5. How to Avoiding Run-on Sentences and Comma
to the first independent clause. Often this means that
Splices
the two independent clauses will have the same subject,
or share another word in common, but not necessarily; A run-on sentence has two or more independent
the second clause should either continue describing the clauses but doesn’t use the right punctuation or linking
action or add information of about equal importance words to connect them. That means that even very
with the first independent clause: short sentences can be run-ons. But you’ll be in more
danger of run-ons when you write long compound-
The cat sat down on top of the remote control.
complex sentences, so keep a sharp eye out.
This is another complete sentence which continues the
Example 1
action and is at least as important as the first
independent clause. Now we’re ready for a dependent The temperature has dropped, it’s windy outside, wear
clause. a jacket.

Step 3: Dependent clause Even though these clauses are complete and related,
they’re not coordinated; they need a coordinator! When
Our dependent clause will spice up the two independent
independent clauses are connected only by a comma,
clauses that we’ve already written. It could tell us more
it’s called a comma splice. There has to be a
about the situation or explain an action, but it can’t be a
connecting word or different punctuation for this
complete sentence on its own. Here’s a dependent
sentence to be correct. See the next examples for
clause:
different ways to fix this sentence.
just when I was reaching for the remote control
Example 2
Clearly, this is only part of a sentence. When we stick it
The temperature has dropped and it’s windy outside, so
in the right place and add the right conjunctions, it’ll
wear a jacket.
make much more sense.
Now we’ve got nice connecting words and no comma
Step 4: Put it together with conjunctions
splice! The conjunction “and” connects the clauses and
Let’s gather all of our clauses and decide on an order. makes this a proper sentence. Meanwhile, the
subordinating conjunction “so,” turns the clause “wear a
 The cat jumped onto the couch.
jacket” into a dependent clause and clarifies the logic of
the sentence.

Example 3

The temperature has dropped; it’s windy outside; wear

a jacket.
We can use a semicolon to connect clauses without
coordinating conjunctions and still avoid those evil,
hateful comma splices.

As you can see from Example 3, it can seem a little

awkward using the same strategy to fix every comma
splice. Better would be: The temperature has dropped
and its windy outside; wear a jacket.  In general, the art
of composing long complicated sentences that are also
clear and stylish is to vary your strategies for combining
clauses.

Compound-complex sentences will seem less

complicated as you get more practice with them, and
then they become great tools for explaining complex
ideas.

Knowing more about the different sentence types will

also help you spice up your writing and show off your
skills!

Conjunctions
There are three types of conjunctions:

1. Coordinating conjunctions – join sentence elements

that are the same. They can join words, phrases,
and clauses.
2. Subordinating conjunctions – join dependent clauses
to independent clauses
3. Correlative conjunctions – do the same thing that
coordinating conjunctions do except that they are
always used in pairs.