Types of Sentences

Types of Sentences

• Or How To Really Impress People With Your Sentence Variety

Types of Sentences

• Sentences are classified according to the number and kinds of clauses they contain. There are four types:
• Simple
• Complex
• Compound
• Compound-Complex

• Let’s look at each one of these more closely.

Types of Sentences

• The Simple Sentence

• A simple sentence has only one independent clause and no subordinate clauses.

• The runner won the race easily.

• S

• V

• DO

• ADV

Types of Sentences

• The Compound Sentence

• A compound sentence has two or more independent clauses and no subordinate clauses.

• The runner trained for many months, so he won the race easily.

• S

• V

• DO

• ADV

• S

• V

• ADV

Types of Sentences

• The Complex Sentence

• A complex sentence has one independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses.

• The runner, who had trained for many months, won the race easily.

• S

• V

• DO

• ADV

• S

• V

• ADV

Types of Sentences

• The Compound-Complex Sentence

• A compound-complex sentence has two independent clauses and one or more subordinate clauses.

• The runner, who had trained for many months, won the race easily,
• but she did not attain a personal best.

• S

• V

• DO

• ADV

• S

• V

• ADV

• S

• V

• DO

Types of Sentences

Type of sentence	Independent Clauses	Subordinate Clauses
Simple	One	None
Compound	Two or more	None
Complex	One	One or more
Compound-Complex	Two or more	One or more

• It may be helpful to remember them in this way:

Types of Sentences

• Identify the sentence type in the following:

• She smiled sweetly, and he grinned shyly.

• Compound

• Mary and Tom agreed to meet after school.

• Simple

• I had a poor background, and the subject was quite difficult; however, the teacher explained the concepts very clearly.

• Compound

Types of Sentences

• Identify the sentence type in the following:

• Because the store was closed, we returned home.

• Complex

• Complex

• The old prospector was discouraged; however, when I suggested giving up, he was indignant.

• Compound-complex

• Although my friends were lost for a while, they eventually found the restaurant that you recommended.