Hey, everyone—welcome to another English grammar lesson.
Today we’re going to be talking about sentence structures or sentence types.
So, first of all, why should we even learn about sentence types?
Like, what’s the point?
Well, beyond acing an English test, mastering the different sentence types is going to allow
you to create more diverse, more accurate, and ultimately more engaging sentences, as
opposed to sticking to just one sentence type, which can quickly become very bland and clunky.
Okay, so what are these sentence types?
Well, there’s simple, compound, and complex.
There’s actually compound-complex as well, but for the purposes of this lesson, we’re
just going to stick with these basic three.
So let’s start with “simple.”
A simple sentence contains one subject-predicate unit and functions as a single independent
clause, meaning that it can stand on its own as a sentence.
It represents one complete thought, and that’s it.
A very basic simple sentence might look like this: “Alex took a nap.”
This sentence has a subject in “Alex,” a predicate in “took,” and it functions
as a single independent clause—one complete thought that can stand on its own as a sentence.
Sometimes, a simple sentence will have a compound subject, like this: “Dave and William went
outside.”
So now you’ve got two people, but they’re connected—they’re lumped together; they’re
both part of the same subject unit.
Alternatively, you might have a compound predicate: “Lucy washed her car and mowed the lawn.”
Same concept here.
Yes, there are two actions, but they’re still part of the same predicate unit.
Heck, you might even have something like this: “Claire and Kyle hiked through the woods
and swam in the lake.”
Here, both the subject and the predicate are compound.
But there’s still just one subject unit and one predicate unit—resulting in just
one independent clause, just one complete thought.
The same is true even if we choose to add a little fluff to our sentence, like an introduction
or something—like this: “After school, Peter and Mandy cooked dinner and studied
for their math test.”
This probably seems like a lot, right?
Like, this sentence is way longer than “Alex took a nap.”
But if you think about it, it’s still just a simple sentence because there’s still
just one subject-predicate unit, and it’s just one independent clause—one complete
thought; one single, simple sentence.
It’s a long sentence, but it’s still a simple sentence.
A compound sentence contains multiple subject-predicate units in the form of multiple independent
clauses—multiple complete thoughts, multiple sentences—joined together by a conjunction—like
this: “John likes vanilla, but he hates chocolate.”
So here we have multiple subject-predicate units within their own independent clauses.
Each of these parts can stand on its own as a sentence: “John likes vanilla” is a
sentence, and “he hates chocolate” is a sentence.
Multiple sentences joined by a FANBOYS conjunction—that’s what we call a “compound sentence.”
So these would all be compound sentences as well: “They tried hard, and they won the
game.”
“Amanda was late, so she got in trouble.”
“We can leave now, or we can wait for Dan.”
In all of these sentences, we have multiple independent clauses—multiple parts that
can each stand on their own as a complete sentence—joined together, in each case,
by a conjunction.
A complex sentence falls somewhere between these two.
A complex sentence has just one true independent clause, but it also has what’s called a
“dependent clause,” a phrase that contains a subject-predicate unit but isn’t an actual
sentence–like this: “When we got home, we played video games.”
So here you have two subject-predicate units: “we” and “got” and “we” and “played,”
but only one part of this sentence can stand on its own, and that’s “we played video
games.”
That’s our independent clause, our complete thought.
The other part, “When we got home,” does contain a subject-predicate unit, but it can’t
stand on its own as a sentence.
You can’t just say, “When we got home.”
When we got home what?
You see?
It can’t stand on its own.
So, with that in mind, here are some more complex sentences: “After you called me,
I started crying.”
Again, there are two subject-predicate units here, but only one can stand on its own.
“I started crying” is an independent clause; it can function as its own sentence.
“After you called me” is a dependent clause.
Yes, it has a subject-predicate unit, but it’s not a complete sentence by itself.
“I went to Burger King because I was hungry.”
Same thing here.
“I went to Burger King” functions as its own complete thought, but “because I was
hungry” is a dependent clause that—although it contains a subject-predicate unit—cannot
stand on its own.
And finally, “Since it was raining, Eric stayed inside.”
“Eric stayed inside” can stand on its own as a sentence; “Since it was raining,”
despite having a subject-predicate unit, cannot.
So let’s try some.
You tell me if these are simple, compound, or complex sentences.
“The party started at 7, but we didn’t get there until 9.”
Take a second…
Compound—exactly.
Multiple subject-predicate units that can each function as their own sentences.
“The party started at 7,” “we didn’t get there until 9”—both independent clauses,
both complete sentences, joined by a conjunction.
“Last night, Adam and I went to the park.”
See what you think here.
Good—simple.
Yes, there are two people (“Adam and I”), but they’re both part of the same subject
unit.
One subject-predicate unit, one independent clause, one complete thought—a simple sentence
(even with the little introduction at the beginning).
And finally, “When I call your name, you can leave.”
Answer is… good—complex.
“You can leave” has a subject-predicate unit and can stand on its own as a sentence,
but “When I call your name,” even though it has a subject-predicate unit, cannot.
Cool! Well, whether you came here for a refresher or are just now learning this stuff for the
first time, I hope this video helped.
Be sure to check out the free practice down in the description, and—uh—we’ll see
you next time.
Thanks.