English Grammar Rules & Mistakes: Learn All of the Essentials: Writing, Speaking, Literature and Punctuation Rules Complete with 10 Key Skills and Over 200 Common Error Examples

dog, and it has a verb, would not rest. We also know it is an independent
clause because it could be a complete sentence by itself. To make this a
complex sentence, a dependent clause has been attached using a
subordinating conjunction. This is the until she returned part. Despite
having a subject and a verb in this clause, as it has until at the start of the
sentence, it can’t stand alone as a complete sentence.
While I cooked dinner, Jessica took the dog out for a walk.
Complex sentences can also start with the dependent clause that is joined to
the main clause by a comma. Remember though that the dependent clause
must start with a subordinating conjunction. This structure works well with

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while and even though.
Compound-Complex Sentences
Finally, we come to our fourth type of sentence structure, the ultimate
compound-complex sentence structure. A compound-complex sentence has at
least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Yes, it may
sound like a recipe for a long and convoluted sentence, and it is. Pay attention
when using this structure to adding in unnecessary information. Keep it neat
and concise. If you do this, you can impress with this type of structure. Fail at
it and your page turns into a mess of confusion. No pressure then!
I planned to go to the mall, but I couldn’t until the postman delivered
the post.
Let’s break up the sentence to see the different parts. The first part, I planned
to go to the mall, is an independent clause. It has a subject and a verb. It can
also be a complete sentence. The second part, but I couldn’t until, is a
dependent clause that uses a subordinating conjunction. The third part, the
postman delivered the post, is also an independent clause. It too has a
subject and a verb. It could be a complete sentence by itself but importantly it
would have a different meaning if it did stand alone. All together, the sum of
these parts qualifies this sentence to be a compound-complex sentence.
You now know the four different types of sentences and you should be
confident in using them correctly. Whenever you are faced with deciding
which type of sentence structure to use, keep in mind that it should be short
and to the point.
There are a few additional bits of advice I can offer you to keep you from
forming sloppy sentences. Firstly, never join the two independent clauses in a
compound sentence with a comma, potentially also adding a third or fourth
independent clause this way. This I call comma splicing and it results in a

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long sentence with unrelated information grouped together.
Secondly, your choice of sentence structure should depend upon who you are
talking to. If your audience is children then using compound-complex
sentences is inappropriate. Likewise, when trying to impress your boss,
relying only on simple sentences can make your writing appear childlike.
There is a fine balance to strike.
Lastly, as you develop your style, you will come to favor certain sentence
structures. This is a good thing as it designates your writing as yours. Often,
the sentence structures you come to use mirror the way you speak. Be
mindful of this and be careful not to waffle. However, if complex sentences
become your go-to sentence structure, then that is just fine. Keep them
concise and full of rhythm. That way your writing style will be well
pronounced on the page.
Now you have learned your sentence structures and can tell your way around
an independent clause or dependent clause, it is time to practice. Go through
each type of sentence structure and write out 4 or 5 examples of your own.
Once you have done this, leave them for a while and return to check them
later. When you check them, did you only put related information into each
sentence? Did you correctly form a compound sentence rather than mixing it
with a complex sentence? Be critical of what you have written. You are
looking for bad habits that you may have developed. I am trying to break you
of those habits so you can go forward from now only using correct sentence
structure.

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