Abby's Homeschool Blog: Grammar and Usage: Part 2: Four Kinds of Sentences

By mixing dependent and independent clauses, you can make different kind of sentences. A sentence with one independent clause is called a simple sentence. For example:

She jumped.

A simple sentence doesn't have to be so short. For example, here's another simlple sentence:

She jumped over the high bar with the grace and strength of a powerful deer.

Sometimes you can't get everything you need to say into a simple sentence. Then you might use a compound sentence, which has two or more independent clauses. For example:

She jumped over the high bar with the grace and strength of a deer, but her teammate slipped and fell on her face.

Jesse decided to leave the party early, and I decided to follow soon after.

I could tell Mandy to meet us at the museum, or we could meet at a restaurant.

Notice that in the compound sentences above, the independent clauses are held together by a comma working with a conjunction:

, but
, and
, or

You can use a comma and a conjunction to join the independent clauses in a compound sentence, or you can use the punctuation mark called a semicolon:

Jesse decided to leave the party early; I decided to follow soon after.

A comma alone is NOT enough to join two independent clauses. In the example above, if you used a comma instead of a semicolon, you'd be making a mistake known as a comma-splice, like this:

Jesse decided to leave the party early, I decided to follow soon after.

Here's another example of a comma-splice error:

The teacher explained the equation, I couldn't solve it.

You can correct that comma-splice by adding a conjunction or by using a semicolon:

The teacher explained the equation, but I couldn't solve it.

The teacher explained the equation; I couldn't solve it.

You could also create a different kind of sentence, one that mixes a dependent clause with an independent clause, like this:

Although the teacher explained the equation, I couldn't solve it.

A sentence with an independent clause and at least one dependent clause is called a complex sentence. In this case, "complex" doesn't necessarily mean "difficult." In fact, a complex sentence might be easier to understand than two simple sentences, because a complex sentence can clarify the relation between separate thoughts. For example:

1. (Two simple sentences) The coach decided to pull the star player out of the game. We won by ten points.

2. (One complex sentence) Although the coach decided to pull the star player out of the game, we won by ten points.

You can also make what is called a compound-complex sentence by joining two or more independent clauses with one or more dpeendent clauses, like this:

Althought the coach decided to pull the star player out of the game, we won by ten points, and we remained the district champions for the third year in a row.

You've learned about four different kinds of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. The important thing is not to label the different sentences that you read, but to use different kinds of sentences when you write. Good writers use a variety of sentence structures. Let's look at how the great writer Mark Twain varies the sentences he writes. Here's a paragraph from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. It describes how Tom feels on a Monday morning when he doesn't want to go to school. Read it aloud to get a better sense of the varied length and rhythm of the sentences.

Tom lay thinking. Presently it occurred to him that he wished he was sick; then he could stay home from school. Here was a vague possibility. He canvassed his system. No ailment was found, and he investigated again. This time he thought he could detect colicky symptoms, and he began to encourage them with considerable hope. But they soon grew feeble, and presently died wholly away. He reflected further. Suddenly he discovered something. One of his upper front teeth was loose. This was lucky; he was about to begin to groan, as a "starter," as he called it, when it occurred to him that if he came into court with that argument, his aunt would pull it out, and that would hurt. So he thought he would hold the tooth in reserve for the present, and seek further.

Like Mark Twain, you can use a variety of sentences

when you write, and so give your sentences an

effective rhythm and pace - almost like a good song.