hey there and welcome back in this
lesson we're going to learn all about
simple compound and complex sentences
many of you have asked me to do a lesson
on this topic so here we are
now in this video I'll show you the
differences between these three types of
sentences and there are exercises within
the lesson for you to practice what you
learn so let's begin
[Music]
so what is a simple sentence a simple
sentence is just a sentence that
contains a subject and a verb for
example I am a teacher here the subject
is I and the verb is am here's another
one she took a cab to the airport can
you identify the subject and the verb
here the subject is she and the verb is
took one more example we're having pizza
for dinner tonight in the sentence the
subject is we and the verb is actually
the phrase are having it has two words
first the auxilary or the helping verb
are and then the main verb having but
still are having is a phrase that acts
as a single verb so in all of these
sentences you see that they have a
subject and a verb so these are simple
sentences now there's another name for a
simple sentence and that is an
independent clause this means more or
less the same thing as a simple sentence
but just remember that it's another name
for a simple sentence so what's a
compound sentence then well a compound
sentence is just a sentence that has two
independent clauses we saw that a simple
sentence has just one clause but a
compound sentence has two or sometimes
more independent clauses take a look at
this example I am a teacher my wife is a
lawyer
what we have here is two separate
independent clauses or simple sentences
and the problem with this is that it
sounds choppy and disconnected when we
say it like that I am a teacher my wife
is a lawyer instead we can combine them
like this I am a teacher and my wife is
a lawyer this sounds much better and now
we have one compound sentence with the
two independent clauses connected by the
conjunction and here's another example
she tried to lift the suitcase the
suitcase was too heavy we can combine
these clauses using but she tried to
lift the suitcase but it was
too heavy notice that we have the word
it in the second part now it is a
pronoun that just refers to the suitcase
it makes the sentence sound better by
avoiding repetition next example he
didn't have enough cash he paid by
credit card we can connect these clauses
using so he didn't have enough cash so
he paid by credit card one last example
we can take a bus to the museum we can
just walk there what we see here is two
options two different ways to get to the
museum we can connect these using or we
can take a bus to the museum or we can
just walk there now
the connecting words that you see in
these examples and but so or etc these
words are called coordinating
conjunctions that's a fancy word but it
just means that these are connecting
words that connect two independent
clauses and there's another important
point here you see that in all of the
examples when we connect the two
independent clauses we put a comma after
the first clause now this is the proper
form you write the first independent
clause then you put a comma after it and
then a conjunction and then you write
the second clause remember this rule ok
we're going to practice this now you see
five items on the screen in each one I
want you to combine the simple sentences
into one compound sentence use a
coordinating conjunction like and but or
or so to make the compound sentence stop
the video now try the exercise and then
play the video again and check okay
let's discuss them number one she
dropped her phone on the floor and it
Brooke number two I'm not very hungry so
I'll just have an orange juice three you
should study harder or you'll fail the
exam four we'd like to buy a car but we
can't afford one right now a number five
is a little tricky
because there are three simple sentences
or three independent clauses but we can
connect them using coordinating
conjunctions I told my roommate to turn
down the TV but he didn't so I got up
and left how many did you get right all
right let's now move on and talk about
complex sentences here's a clause first
when I got home from work yesterday what
do you notice about it well it has a
subject I and a verb got but this clause
is just not a complete sentence and
that's because if I say to you when I
got home from work yesterday you will
ask okay what happened what did you do
so you see this thought is not complete
so this is not an independent clause
this type of clause is called a
dependent clause to make it a complete
sentence you have to add an independent
clause for example when I got home from
work yesterday I watched TV for an hour
so you see that there is a dependent
clause and an independent clause and now
it's a complete sentence and this type
of sentence is called a complex sentence
here are some more examples but before I
talk about them in each one I want you
to identify the dependent clause and the
independent clause stop the video and
try the exercise then play the video
again and continue alright in number two
I love to travel is the independent
clause and because I get to meet a lot
of interesting people is the dependent
clause now in sentence number one we saw
that the dependent clause came first and
here in number two the dependent clause
comes second that's okay
in complex sentences you can put the
clauses in any order that's no problem
alright number three even though the
exam was quite difficult is the
dependent clause and all the students
passed is the independent clause and
number four let me know is independent
and if you need any
help is dependant and finally number
five you can't go out and play is the
independent clause and until you finish
your homework is the dependent clause
just remember that to decide whether a
clause is dependent or independent you
ask the question can this clause be a
complete sentence on its own if it can
be a complete sentence then it's an
independent clause and if it cannot be a
complete sentence then it's a dependent
clause now in all of these examples you
see that the dependent clauses start
with a linking word like when because
even though if and until these words are
conjunctions but they're called
subordinating conjunctions the dependent
clauses are also called
subordinate clauses it means the same
thing so the conjunctions are
subordinating conjunctions if you
remember from the previous section we
connected the independent clauses using
coordinating conjunctions and here we're
using subordinating conjunctions now
there's one more thing I want you to
notice here and that is the use of
commas in sentences 1 & 3 you see that
there is a comma but in sentences 2 4 &
5
there's no comma and this is because in
1 & 3 the dependent clause comes first
if the dependent clause comes first we
put a comma after it and then we write
the independent clause but in 2 4 & 5 an
independent clause comes first if that's
the case we don't put a comma after it
now if you want to learn more about
punctuation and about the proper use of
commas I have a separate lesson just on
that topic
it's called punctuation master class I
will leave a link in the description you
can go and check it out there's another
type of dependent clause that you need
to know about and that is the relative
clause a relative clause uses a relative
pronoun like who that which etc for
example I know a guy who plays guitar in
a rock band
the sentence is actually a combination
of two sentences I know a guy and he
plays guitar in a rock band both of
those are simple sentences and we
combine them using the relative pronoun
who so who plays guitar in a rock band
is a relative clause that gives us
information about the guy it tells you
who that guy is but that Clause is not a
complete sentence and so it's a
dependent clause and the entire sentence
is a complex sentence
here's another example synonyms are
words that have similar meanings here
that have similar meanings is the
relative clause and one last example the
boss wants me to give a speech at the
event which is tomorrow here which is
tomorrow is the relative clause now I'm
not going to go into detail on relative
clauses here because they're a big topic
and we'll have to explore them in a
different lesson but for now just
remember that relative clauses can also
be part of a complex sentence okay I
have another exercise for you you see
six items on the screen in each one I
want you to combine the simple sentences
into one complex sentence use the word
in the parenthesis to do this stop the
video now try the exercise then play the
video again and continue now there are
different ways to rewrite each sentence
I'll give you my answers here's how I
wrote the first one people eat a lot of
fast food nowadays even though they know
it's bad for their health number two you
can't borrow any books from the library
unless you have a membership number
three
she couldn't log into her gmail account
because she had forgotten her password
for Harvey was a vegetarian until he
married Susie now this sentence is much
shorter than the original two sentences
but it has the same meaning number five
the man who lives in that house is a
millionaire and finally number six
children shouldn't be allowed to play
video games that contain violence where
your answer is the same as mine let me
know in the comments before we close
this lesson I want to tell you about one
more type of sentence the compound
complex sentence this is simply a
sentence with more than one independent
clause so it's a compound sentence and
also with one or more dependent clauses
so it's a complex sentence for example I
was crazy about heavy metal when I was
younger but I'm more into jazz now heavy
metal and jazz genres or types of music
we see here that the first Clause is
independent I was crazy about heavy
metal then there's a dependent clause
when I was younger then there's a
coordinating conjunction but and then
another independent clause but I'm more
into jazz now so this is a compound
complex sentence here's another example
if it rains tomorrow bring your umbrella
or you might catch a cold can you
identify the different clauses here well
the first Clause is dependent if it
rains tomorrow then there's an
independent clause bring your umbrella
now you might be asking how is this an
independent clause I don't see a subject
here well this type of clause is
actually called an imperative that is a
request or a command and the subject is
understood it's basically you so it's
like saying you bring your umbrella but
in imperatives we usually leave out that
you all right then we have a
coordinating conjunction or and then
another independent clause you might
catch a cold so you see that compound
complex sentences are nothing special
they're just a combination of a compound
sentence and a complex sentence okay
remember that the whole purpose of
learning about the different sentence
types is to add variety to your own
speech and writing whenever you speak
and especially whenever you write
whether it's emails essays report
stories whatever it is pay attention to
the sentence types that you use make
sure to choose the best kind of sentence
that expresses your message and helps
your writing to flow smoothly all right
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