Sentences

Simple
Compound
Complex

Clauses
Independent/Main Clause:
Has subject and predicate
Expresses a complete idea
Stands alone as a complete sentence

Dependent/Subordinate Clause:
Does not express a complete thought
Cannot stand alone as a complete sentence
Adds detail to the independent clause

Simple Sentences
Simple sentence = Independent/Main Clause
Expresses a complete thought
Has a subject and predicate
Ex: Esta went to Mary Lin Elementary.

Simple Subjects &

Complete Subjects
The simple subject tells you who or what is
doing the action in the sentence, not including
any details about that person or thing.
1 word noun or pronoun

Ex: A short, fat boy with red hair ran down

the street crying.
Boy = simple subject
A short, fat boy with red hair = complete subject
*All extra words in complete subject are just
describing

Simple Predicates &

Complete Predicates
The simple predicate tells you what the main
action in the sentence is
- the Verb in the sentence
Ex: Anthony flew on a huge, stinky plane
over the holidays.
Flew = simple predicate
Flew on a huge, stinky plane over the holidays =
complete predicate
*All other words in the predicate are just adding
details

Compound Subjects
Sometimes a simple sentence has more than
one subject that shares one predicate.
Ex: Max and his family drove to Florida.
Max and his family = compound subject
*2 or more separate people but doing the same
action
*The subjects are joined by a conjunction, but you
cannot separate the sentence into two
sentences.

Ex: Chase and Drew giggled all day long.

Compound Predicates
Sometimes a simple sentence has one
subject doing two or more actions.
Ex: Quinn likes to read and loves football.
Quinn is one subject
This sentence give 2 verbs telling what he is
doing: likes, loves
*The two actions are joined by a conjunction, but
you cannot separate the sentence into two
sentences.

Ex: Danny walked through the park and went

home.

Fragments & Run-ons

A sentence fragment is a group of words that
does not express a complete thought and
cannot stand alone as a sentence.
Ex: run fast

A run-on is a group of words that forms more

than one complete sentence and is
incorrectly joined together.
Grace is a performer Kaylin is a performer, too.

Practice:
Johnny burned his hand.
A terrible accident.
He went to the hospital and got some
medicine.
Phoebe and Hannah went to a crazy party!
They ran into their enemy there.
She threw a drink on them and ran away!
Jermaine and Christina laughed when they
heard the story.

Compound Sentences
A compound sentence is a sentence that is
made up of 2 or more simple sentences
The simple sentences are joined by a comma
AND conjunction OR a semi-colon (;)
HINT: To see if it is a compound sentence, cover
the conjunction and make sure you have a
complete sentence on each side!!!

Ex: Nat boarded the ship, and the crowd

waved.

What is compound in each sentence?

Antonio and his family value a good
education.
Simon read about the military, and he did his
homework.
Seth played football and took a nap.
Austin and Zion worked on their project.
Sara studied for her test, and Grace watched
t.v.
LaTaeya read a book and went outside.

Complex Sentences
A complex sentence is made up of an
independent clause and at least one
dependent clause
The dependent clause can come before or after
the independent clause. If it comes before, put a
comma after it.

Ex: After they finished studying, Genevieve

and Kendall went to the movies.
Ex: Genevieve and Kendall went to the
movies after they finished studying.

Compound-Complex Sentences
A compound-complex sentence is made
up of at least one dependent clause and
two or more independent clauses.
Ex: Even though he prefers to eat with a
fork, he uses chopsticks at a Chinese
restaurant, but it is hard for him.

More Compound-Complex
Ex: Whenever I go to the movies, I eat
popcorn, but it gets stuck in my teeth!
Ex: If I get straight As, my mom will buy
me a cell phone, so I have to study
really hard.
Ex: I love to go to parties, so I always
ask my mom whenever I am invited to
one.