WRITING WORKSHOP

Sentences Divided by Structure

In terms of structure, sentences can be classified in four ways:

 Simple: one independent clause
 Compound: at least two independent clauses
 Complex: an independent clause and at least one dependent clause
 Compound-complex: two or more independent clauses and at least one
dependent clause

In the following link you will see a video that can explain in 15 minutes how they work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urr55rAreWc. Also, this text from
https://www.thoughtco.com/sentence-structure-english-grammar-1691891 can help you
out with a more thorough explanation of the four types of sentences. Remember to
check the exercise at the end.

The Simple Sentence

For writers and readers alike, the simple sentence is the basic building block of
language. As the name suggests, a simple sentence is usually very short, sometimes
no more than a subject and verb.
In English grammar, a simple sentence is a sentence with only one independent
clause. Though a simple sentence doesn't contain any subordinate clauses, it isn't
always short. A simple sentence often contains modifiers. In addition, subjects, verbs,
and objects may be coordinated.

Constructing a Simple Sentence

At its most basic, the simple sentence contains a subject and a verb:
I am running.
Kelsey loves potatoes.
Mom is a teacher.
However, simple sentences also can contain adjectives and adverbs, even a
compound subject:
He can follow that path and see the waterfall.
You and your friends can see the waterfall from the trail.
I was wearing my navy linen suit, a crisp white shirt, a red tie, and black loafers.
The trick is to look for multiple independent clauses joined by a coordinating
conjunction, a semicolon, or a colon. These are characteristics of a compound
sentence. A simple sentence, on the other hand, only has a single subject-verb
relationship.

The Compound Sentence

In a writer's toolkit, few things are more versatile than a compound sentence. By
definition, these sentences are more complex than a simple sentence because they
contain two or more independent clauses. They are what give an essay detail and
depth, making your writing come alive in the reader's mind.
In English grammar, a compound sentence can be thought of as two (or more) simple
sentences joined by a conjunction or an appropriate mark of punctuation.

Regardless of how you structure a compound sentence, it signals to the reader that
you are discussing two equally important ideas. There are three primary ways of doing
so.

Coordinating Conjunctions
A coordinating conjunction indicates a relationship between the two independent
clauses, whether contrasting or complementary. It is by far the most common means of
joining clauses to create a compound sentence.
Example: Laverne served the main course, and Shirley poured the wine.

Spotting a coordinating conjunction is fairly easy because there are only seven to
remember: and, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet.

Semicolons
A semicolon creates an abrupt transition between the clauses, usually for sharp
emphasis or contrast.
Example: Laverne served the main course; Shirley poured the wine.

Because semicolons create such an abrupt transition, use them sparingly. But you can
write a perfectly good essay and not need a single semicolon.

Colons
In more formal written instances, a colon may be employed to show a direct,
hierarchical relationship between clauses.
Example: Laverne served the main course: It was time for Shirley to pour the wine.

Using a colon in a compound sentence is rare in everyday English grammar; you're

most likely to encounter its use in complex technical writing.

Simple vs. Compound Sentences

In some occasions you may be unsure of whether the sentence you're reading is
simple or compound. An easy way to find out is to try dividing the sentence into two
simple sentences. If the result makes sense, then you've got a compound sentence.
Simple: I was late for the bus. The driver had already passed my stop.
Compound: I was late for the bus, but the driver had already passed my stop.

If the result does not make sense, however, you have a different kind of sentence.
These may be simple sentences, with no subordinate clauses or they may contain
subordinate clauses:
Simple: When I left the house, I was running late.
Compound: I left the house; I was running late.

Another way to determine whether a sentence is simple or compound is to look for verb
phrases or predicate phrases:
Simple: Running late, I decided to take the bus.
Compound: I was running late but I decided to take the bus.

Lastly, bear in mind that while compound sentences are great for variety's sake, you
shouldn't rely on them alone in an essay. Complex sentences, which contain multiple
dependent clauses, can express detailed processes, while simple sentences can be
used for emphasis or brevity.

The Complex Sentence

In traditional grammar, a complex sentence is a sentence that contains an independent
clause (or main clause) and at least one dependent clause. Put another way, a
complex sentence is made up of a main clause with one or more dependent clauses
joined to it with an appropriate conjunction or pronoun.
For an alternative definition, see Holger Diessel's remarks in Examples and
Observations below.

Examples and Observations

- "[I]n the complex sentence John left when his sister arrived, the clause when his
sister arrived is a dependent clause because it is preceded by the word when,
which is a subordinating conjunction. Dependent clauses are not complete
sentences; they cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. For example,
When his sister arrived cannot stand alone. Dependent clauses must be
attached to independent clauses in order to form a complete sentence. In the
complex sentence above, John left is the independent clause."
—Denise E. Murray and Mary Ann Christison, What English Language
Teachers Need to Know. Routledge, 2011

- Martina laughed when her mother dropped a pie upside down on the floor.
- "Because he was so small, Stuart was often hard to find around the house."
—E.B. White, Stuart Little, 1945
- "I learned a valuable lesson about cheating after I changed a mark on my report
card in the third grade."—"Making the Grade"
- "If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he
hears a different drummer."
—Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854
- "He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow."
—George Eliot, Adam Bede, 1859
- "[W]hen my brother got his pants leg caught on the top of a high fence and
hung upside down, weeping and muttering curses because his pants were
newly torn and Mother would spank him for sure, no angel was with him."
—Gary Soto, A Summer Life. University Press of New England, 1990
- "The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood up in a corner and kept quiet all
night, although of course they could not sleep."
—L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1990)
- "Although volume upon volume is written to prove slavery a very good thing, we
never hear of the man who wishes to take the good of it by being a slave
himself."
—Abraham Lincoln, "Fragment on Slavery," July 1854

Relative Clauses and Adverbial Clauses

"A complex sentence has a main clause, and one or more subordinate clauses, which
come in various kinds. One kind is a relative clause, as in the [bold] parts of Jack knew
the kid who shot Kennedy. They can be piled up as in Jack's the guy who shot the
kid who killed Kennedy. ... One more common kind of subordinate clause is
an adverbial clause, often stating when, how, why, or if something happened, as in the
[bold] parts of these sentences: If John comes, I'm leaving, or He left because he felt
ill. None of the examples just given were particularly exotic, and they could all easily
have occurred in conversational speech. All were, in a technical sense, complex
sentences, because they contained subordinate clauses."
—James R. Hurford, The Origins of Grammar: Language in the Light of Evolution II.
Oxford University Press, 2012

Positioning Clauses in Complex Sentences

"[D]ependent clauses cannot be sentences on their own. They depend on an
independent clause to support them. The independent clause in a complex
sentence carries the main meaning, but either clause may come first."
—A. Robert Young and Ann O. Strauch, Nitty Gritty Grammar: Sentence Essentials for
Writers. Cambridge University Press, 2006

The Need for Complex Sentences

"Most of the sentences we use in writing or in continuous speech are complex. ...
There is a recurrent need to expound facts or concepts in greater elaboration than the
structure of the simple sentence permits."
—Walter Nash, English Usage: A Guide to First Principles. Routledge, 1986

The Compound-Complex Sentence

In English grammar, a compound-complex sentence is a sentence with two or more
independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. Also known as a complex-
compound sentence.

Examples and Observations

 "The compound-complex sentence is so named because it shares the
characteristics of both compound and complex sentences. Like the compound
sentence, the compound-complex has two main clauses. Like the complex
sentence, it has at least one subordinate clause. The subordinate clause can be
 part of an independent clause."
(Random House Webster's Pocket Grammar, Usage, and Punctuation, 2007)
 "His blue eyes were light, bright and sparkling behind half-mooned spectacles,
and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least
twice."
(J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Scholastic, 1998)
 "The door of the morning room was open as I went through the hall, and I
caught a glimpse of Uncle Tom messing about with his collection of old silver."
(P.G. Wodehouse, The Code of the Woosters, 1938)
 "All of us are egotists to some extent, but most of us—unlike the jerk—are
perfectly and horribly aware of it when we make asses of ourselves."(Sidney J.
Harris, "A Jerk," 1961)
 "Those are my principles, and if you don't like them . . . well, I have others."
(Groucho Marx)
 "The Druids used mistletoe in ceremonies of human sacrifice, but most of all the
evergreen became a symbol of fertility because it flourished in winter when
other plants withered."(Sian Ellis, "England's Ancient 'Special Twig.'" British
Heritage, January 2001)
 "We operate under a jury system in this country, and as much as we complain
about it, we have to admit that we know of no better system, except possibly
flipping a coin."
(Dave Barry, Dave Barry's Guide to Marriage and/or Sex, 1987)
 "She gave me another of those long keen looks, and I could see that she was
again asking herself if her favourite nephew wasn't steeped to the tonsils in the
juice of the grape."(P.G. Wodehouse, Plum Pie, 1966)
 "In America everybody is of the opinion that he has no social superiors, since all
men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors, for, from
the time of Jefferson onward, the doctrine that all men are equal applies only
upwards, not downwards."
(Bertrand Russell, Unpopular Essays, 1930)

How, Why, and When to Use Compound-Complex Sentences

 "The compound-complex sentence consists of two or more independent
clauses and one or more dependent clauses. This syntactic shape is essential
in representing complex relationships and so is frequently put to use in various
forms of analytical writing, especially in academic writing. It is also probably true
that the ability to use compound-complex sentences elevates a writer's
 credibility: it demonstrates that he or she can bring together in a single
sentence a range of different pieces of information and order them in
relationship to each other. This is not to say that the compound-complex
sentence invites confusion: on the contrary, when handled carefully, it has the
opposite effect—it clarifies the complexity and enables readers to see it clearly."
(David Rosenwasser and Jill Stephen, Writing Analytically, 6th ed. Wadsworth,
2012)
 "Compound-complex sentences get unwieldy in a hurry. So clear writers
minimize their use, generally restricting them to no more than 10 percent of
their work.
"But varying the sentence structures in a piece makes it more interesting, and
writers who care about rhythm will stray from the simpler forms to mix in
compound sentences now and then."(Jack Hart, A Writer's Coach: The
Complete Guide to Writing Strategies That Work. Anchor, 2006)
 "Compound-complex sentences are used infrequently in business
messages because of their length."(Jules Harcourt et al., Business
Communication, 3rd ed. South-Western Educational, 1996)
Punctuating Compound-Complex Sentences
 "If a compound or a compound-complex sentence has one or
more commas in the first clause, you may want to use a semicolon before
the coordinating conjunction between the two clauses. Its purpose is to show
the reader very clearly the division between the two independent clauses."(Lee
Brandon and Kelly Brandon, Sentences, Paragraphs, and Beyond, 7th ed.
Wadsworth, 2013)
 "For in the end, freedom is a personal and lonely battle; and one faces down
fears of today so that those of tomorrow might be engaged."(Alice Walker,
"Choosing to Stay at Home Ten Years After the March on Washington,"
1973. In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens, 1983)

Exercise

Instructions
The sentences in this exercise have been adapted from poems in two books by Shel
Silverstein: "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and "Falling Up." Identify each of the following
sentences as simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex.
1. I made an airplane out of stone.
2. I put a piece of cantaloupe underneath the microscope.
3. Oaties stay oaty, and Wheat Chex stay floaty, and nothing can take the puff out
of Puffed Rice.
4. While fishing in the blue lagoon, I caught a lovely silverfish.
5. They say if you step on a crack, you will break your mother's back.
6. They just had a contest for scariest mask, and I was the wild and daring one
who won the contest for scariest mask—and (sob) I'm not even wearingone.
7. My voice was raspy, rough, and cracked.
8. I opened my eyes and looked up at the rain, and it dripped in my head and
flowed into my brain.
9. They say that once in Zanzibar a boy stuck out his tongue so far that it reached
the heavens and touched a star, which burned him rather badly.
10. I'm going to Camp Wonderful beside Lake Paradise across from Blissful
Mountain in the Valley of the Nice.
11. I joke with the bats and have intimate chats with the cooties who crawl through
my hair.
12. The animals snarled and screeched and growled and whinnied and whimpered
and hooted and howled and gobbled up the whole ice cream stand.
13. The antlers of a standing moose, as everybody knows, are just the perfect
place to hang your wet and drippy clothes.
14. We'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow, and we'll go where the chalk-
white arrows go.
15. If I had a brontosaurus, I would name him Horace or Morris.
16. I am writing these poems from inside a lion, and it's rather dark in here.
17. A piece of sky broke off and fell through the crack in the ceiling right into my
soup.
18. The grungy, grumpy, grouchy Giant grew tired of his frowny pout and hired me
and Lee to lift the corners of his crumblin' mouth.
19. If you were only one inch tall, you'd ride a worm to school.
20. The traffic light simply would not turn green, so the people stopped to wait as
the traffic rolled and the wind blew cold, and the hour grew dark and late.