Review: Simple Sentences

y Has one independent clause and no subordinating clauses y Independent clauses: Stand by themselves y Remember: a complete sentence has a subject, a verb (predicate), and expresses a complete thought y Examples: y Suzie ran to school yesterday morning. y I cooked a pizza for dinner. y WATCH OUT FOR COMPOUND VERBS! Does not mean compound sentence y Kim and Maureen read each other s short stories and made many suggestions for improvements.

Review: Compound Sentences

y Contains 2 or more independent clauses and no

subordinate clause (dependent clause) y Independent clauses are joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction or a semi-colon (;) y Coordinating Conjunction: FANBOYS
y For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

y Watch out for lists: I went to the store to buy milk,

eggs, and bread for breakfast.

y bread for breakfast is not a complete thought,

therefore this in not a compound sentence

Compound Examples
y Independent Clauses are underlined, coordinating conjunction or semi-colon bolded

y Melvin wrote about his mother s aunt, and Leroy wrote

about his cousin from Jamaica.

y Kathryn s scene is the last act of the play, so she must

wait in the wings for her cue.

y No one was injured in the fire, but several homes were

destroyed, and many trees burned down. y They studied for the test; it was easy for them.

Complex Sentence
y Contains one independent clause and at least one

subordinate clause
y Subordinate clause:
y y

Also called dependent clause Does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence May appear in beginning, middle, or at the end of a sentence 2 types of subordinating clauses: Adjective and adverb

Complex Sentences Subordinate Clauses

y Adverb clauses usually begin with a comma and

subordinating conjunction
y Common Conjunctions: AAAWWUBBIS
y

Although, after, as, when, while, until, because, before, if, since Who, whom, whose, which, and that

y Adjective clauses begin with a relative pronoun

y

Complex Sentence Examples

y Patricia Roberts Harris, who served as President

Carter s secretary of housing and urban development, was the first African American woman to be a Cabinet member. (adjective clause) y When I hear classical music, I think of Aunt Sofia.
(adverb clause)

y One interesting event that is held in the Southwest

is the Inter-Tribal Indian Ceremonial, which involves many different American Indian peoples.
(two adjective clauses)

y Underline the Subordinate Clause in the Following Sentence and Circle the relative pronoun or subordinating conjunction 1. Helen Keller, who is shown in the photograph at the top, became very ill as a small child. 2. After she recovered from the illness, she could no longer see or hear. 3. Because she could not hear, she also lost her ability to speak. 4. Helen Keller, who overcame severe physical impairments, showed great determination. 5. Keller was fortunate because she had such a skillful loving teacher.

Practice Answers
y Underline the Subordinate Clause in the Following Sentence and Circle the relative pronoun or subordinating conjunction 1. Helen Keller, who is shown in the photograph at the top, became very ill as a small child. 2. After she recovered from the illness, she could no longer see or hear. 3. Because she could not hear, she also lost her ability to speak. 4. Helen Keller, who overcame severe physical impairments, showed great determination. 5. Keller was fortunate because she had such a skillful loving teacher.

Important Key Points:

y Simple Sentences: y One complete thought/one independent clause y Compound Sentences: y Two complete thoughts (independent clauses), combined by either a semi-colon or a comma and conjunction: FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) y Complex Sentences: y One independent clause and one dependent/subordinate clause combined by either a relative pronoun (who, whom, which, and that) or a subordinating conjunction: AAAWWUBBIS (Although, after, as, when, while, until, because, before, if, since)

Classifying Sentences
y Decide if the sentences below are Simple, Compound, or

Complex. Circle the conjunction or relative pronoun. 1. I drew an illustration of a poem that was written by Robert Hayden. 2. The Olympic skaters felt anxious, but they still performed their routine perfectly. 3. Kamehameha Day is an American holiday that honors the king who united the islands of Hawaii. 4. For the first time in his life, Luke saw the ocean. 5. If you had a choice, would you rather visit China or Japan?

6. The bull was donated to the children s zoo by the people who bought it at the auction. 7. Lookout Mountain, which is in Tennessee, was the site of a battle during the Civil War. 8. The guide led us through Mammoth Cave; she explained the difference between stalactites and stalagmites. 9. Wilhelm Steinitz of Austria became famous after he was officially recognized as the first world champion of chess. 10. Amy Tan is the author of the book The Joy Luck Club.

Classifying Sentences - Answers

y Decide if the sentences below are Simple, Compound, or

Complex. Circle the conjunction or relative pronoun. 1. I drew an illustration (of a poem) that was written by Robert Hayden. complex 2. The Olympic skaters felt anxious, but they still performed their routine perfectly. compound 3. Kamehameha Day is an American holiday that honors the king who united the islands of Hawaii. complex 4. (For the first time in his life), Luke saw the ocean. simple 5. If you had a choice, would you rather visit China or Japan? complex

6. The bull was donated to the children s zoo (by the people) who bought it at the auction. complex 7. Lookout Mountain, which is (in Tennessee), was the site (of a battle) (during the Civil War). complex 8. The guide led us (through Mammoth Cave); she explained the difference (between stalactites and stalagmites). compound 9. Wilhelm Steinitz (of Austria) became famous after he was officially recognized as the first world champion (of chess). Complex 2 subordinate clauses! 10. Amy Tan is the author of the book The Joy Luck Club. simple