As you learned in English 125, there are four types of sentences in English. Before you look at those types, take some time to review your understanding of clauses.
Understanding Clauses
All sentences are made up of clauses. Simply put, a clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb. There are two types of clauses that you need to understand.
Independent Clauses
Also known as main clauses, these clauses have a subject and a verb and make up a complete thought. You don’t need any extra information for them to make sense. They are complete sentences by themselves.
- Seoul is one of the largest cities in Asia.
Dependent Clauses
Sometimes also called subordinate clauses, dependent clauses also have a subject and a verb, but they are not a complete thought. They need to be connected to an independent clause to make sense and be grammatically correct. Generally speaking, dependent clauses provide some kind of context (e.g. time, identity, reason, etc.) for the independent clause.
- when the new highway is finished
- while you were sleeping last night
- who repaired my grandfather’s car after the accident
Remember, a dependent clause by itself is a sentence fragment and is grammatically incorrect in written English.
Simple Sentences
Simple sentences are made up of one independent clause, and as such, they have a subject and a verb and form a complete thought.
- Convenience stores are a common sight in most urban neighbourhoods.
- Wang Min has worked at this company for longer than anyone.
- Planning a community event takes a lot of time and patience.
Simple sentences can also have compound subjects.
- Seattle and Vancouver are very similar in many ways.
They can also have compound verbs.
- Seattle is large but still feels like a smaller city.
Compound Sentences
A compound sentence is made up of two independent clauses. There are two different ways to connect independent clauses to form this type of sentence.
Coordinating Conjunction and Comma
The first way to form a compound sentence is to join two independent clauses with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and / but / or / so / for / yet / nor)
| INDEPENDENT CLAUSE | ,AND ,BUT ,SO ,OR ,FOR ,NOR ,YET |
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE |
- I’ve had a very long day, so I’m going to bed.
- Andrew works in a bank downtown, and his wife works from home.
- Moving to a new city can be a stressful experience, but it can also be very exciting.
Semicolon
Another way to join the two clauses to form a compound sentence is with a semicolon (;). Sometimes, semicolons can be used without a linking word because the relationship between the two clauses is already clear. Usually, this is when the second independent clause has a cause/effect relationship or simply gives more information about the first clause.
| INDEPENDENT CLAUSE | ; | INDEPENDENT CLAUSE |
- This neighbourhood has changed so much over the last few years; I almost don’t recognize it!
- City Hall meetings can be very emotional; people have strong feelings about what happens in their town.
Remember that you can only use a semicolon by itself when the relationship between the two independent clauses is already completely clear. If you think the reader will need a bit more help to understand how the two clauses are related, you need to use a conjunctive adverb to make it clear. Note that the conjunctive adverb must be preceded by a semi colon and followed by a comma.
| INDEPENDENT CLAUSE | ; as a result, ; besides, ; consequently, ; furthermore, ; however, ; in addition, ; in fact, ; instead, ; likewise, ; meanwhile, ; moreover, ; nevertheless, ; next ; now ; on the other hand, ; otherwise, ; similarly, ; still ; then ; therefore, |
INDEPENDENT CLAUSE |
- Living in the city is a lot of fun; nevertheless, I always feel safer in a small town.
- Raising animals for food may not be allowed in your city; therefore, you should check your local laws before getting started.
Complex Sentences
A complex sentence is made up of an independent clause and a dependent clause. The clauses can be arranged in two ways.
| INDEPENDENT CLAUSE | DEPENDENT CLAUSE |
- Getting around the city was certainly a lot faster after they built the subway system.
- Is there any way you can send me the file before you leave tonight?
| DEPENDENT CLAUSE | , | INDEPENDENT CLAUSE |
When the dependent clause is in front of the independent clause, use a comma to separate them. Remember that a dependent clause always begins with a subordinating conjunction like 'when' or 'because'.
- When the settlers first arrived in the valley, they were not prepared for how difficult the winter would be.
- Since Tamara is organizing the session tonight, you should ask her what we need to bring.
Check Lesson 2-2 in English 125 for a list of some common subordinating conjunctions and the meanings they convey.
Note that relative clauses are a type of dependent clause, so sentences that contain them are also complex sentences.
- I’m not sure where she grew up.
- Jane Jacobs, who spent most of her life in New York and Toronto, was a strong believer in the importance of the neighbourhood.
Relative clauses will be discussed in more detail in Unit 4: Grammar 4-1, 4-2 and 4-3.
Compound-complex Sentences
Compound-complex sentences are simply a combination of compound and complex sentences. They consist of two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. Because they have so many parts, compound-complex sentences can look quite different from each other.
- My grandparents got married in 1965, and they immigrated to Los Angeles two years later even though they didn’t know anyone in the city.
- Taipei is very well-known as a tourist destination because it has an amazingly rich food culture, and the nightlife is among the most exciting in Asia.
- Because the local government has invested a lot into making the city more livable, life in Moscow has changed over the last ten years; however, some services still need to be improved.
Open the exercise and follow the instructions.