What’s in a name?
SIMPLE, COMPOUND, COMPLEX, & COMPOUND-COMPLEX SENTENCES
Simple Sentences
ONE SUBJECT + ONE PREDICATE
N+V
Simple Sentences
 Romeo
complains.
 Benvolio
 They
listens.
go to a party.
Since “they” is a
pronoun, not a
noun. Some
grammarians use
the terms subject
and predicate to
identify the parts of
a sentence instead
of noun and verb.
Simple Sentences
 Romeo
 Juliet
sees Juliet.
sees Romeo.
 Romeo
and Juliet hand-kiss.
In a sentence the
subject can be
compound—
meaning there are
two or more nouns.
But the sentence is
still a simple
sentence if both
nouns are doing the
same action.
Simple Sentences
 Romeo
 They
and Juliet flirt and hand-kiss.
sigh and lip-kiss.
The predicate can
also be compound—
meaning there are
more than two verbs.
But the sentence is still
simple if there is only
one subject.
Compound Sentences
TWO SUBJECTS + TWO PREDICATES
N+V
, + cc
N+V
Compound Sentences
Two Subjects + Two Predicates
 Romeo
loves Juliet, but Juliet is a
Capulet.
When a sentence
has two nouns and
two actions—with
each noun doing a
different action—
the sentence is
called a compound
sentence.
Compound Sentences
Two Subjects + Two Predicates
 Romeo
loves Juliet, but Juliet is a
Capulet.
When a sentence
has two nouns and
two actions—with
each noun doing a
different action—
the sentence is
called a compound
sentence.
Compound Sentences
Coordinating Conjunctions
For
 And
 Nor

 But
Or
 Yet
 So

To connect the two
simple sentences
into a compound
sentence, we need
to use a comma
and a coordinating
conjunction.
Compound Sentences
Subject + Verb + , + cc + Subject + Verb
 Romeo
loves Juliet, but Juliet is a
Capulet.
 Benvolio
and Mercutio are looking for
Romeo, so he is hiding.
cc = Coordinating Conjunction
= F.A.N.B.O.Y.S.
Compound Sentence Story
Subject + Verb + , + cc + Subject + Verb
 Write
your name, period, and Compound
Sentences on a piece of paper.
 Write
a compound sentence about
characters from Rome and Juliet.
 Pass
time
your paper back, one student at a
Review | Simple Sentences

Simple Sentences have one subject doing
an action:

Juliet sighs.

Romeo whines.

Friar Lawrence was gathering herbs.

Benvolio stopped people from fighting.
Review | Simple Sentences

The subjects in simple sentences may include
more than one noun:

The Capulets and the Montagues are feuding.

Lady Capulet, Juliet, and the nurse talk
about marriage.

Mercutio, Tybalt, Romeo, Juliet, and Lady
Montague are dead at the end of the play.
Review | Simple Sentences

The actions (predicate) in simple sentences may
include more than one verb:
 Mercutio fought and mocked Tybalt.
 Romeo and Benvolio intercepted an invitation
and went to the party.

As long as the sentence only has one subject
doing the actions, it is still a simple sentence.
Review | Compound Sentences

Simple Sentences are also called Independent
Clauses.

This is because a simple sentence is able to
be by itself, without needing another
sentence to communicate the message.
Review | Compound Sentences

A Compound Sentence has two
independent clauses connected by a
comma and a coordinating conjunction.

The coordinating conjunctions are:
For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So
Complex Sentences
ONE INDEPENDENT CLAUSE +
ONE OR MORE DEPENDENT CLAUSES
IC
+
DC
Complex Sentences

A Complex Sentence has one independent
clause and at least one dependent clause.

A Dependent Clause “depends on” another
sentence to communicate the message.
Complex Sentences

Dependent clauses begin with words called
subordinating conjunctions. Here’s a list of
some common conjunctions:
after, although, as, because, before, even
though, if, rather than, since, so that, that,
though, unless, until, when, where, whether,
while, why
Complex Sentences
IC + sc + DC

Benvolio and Mercutio looked for Romeo
after they left the dinner party.

Paris is convinced that Juliet loves him even
though she barely pays attention to him.
sc = Subordinating Conjunction
Complex Sentences
sc + DC + , + IC

After they left the dinner party, Benvolio and
Mercutio looked for Romeo.

Even though she barely pays attention to
him, Paris is convinced that Juliet loves him.
sc = Subordinating Conjunction
Compound-Complex Sentences
TWO INDEPENDENT CLAUSES +
ONE OR MORE DEPENDENT CLAUSES
IC
IC
DC
Compound-Complex Sentences

A Compound-Complex Sentence has two
independent clauses and at least one
dependent clause.
Compound-Complex Sentences

Romeo loves Juliet, even though she is a
Capulet, and he tries to win her love.

While the feud escalates, more characters
die, and Romeo and Juliet’s chances for a
happy ending diminish.
Compound-Complex Sentences

Romeo loves Juliet, even though she is a
Capulet, and he tries to win her love.

While the feud escalates, more characters
die, and Romeo and Juliet’s happy ending
vanishes.
Compound-Complex Sentences

Romeo loves Juliet, even though she is a
Capulet, and he tries to win her love.

While the feud escalates, more characters
die, and Romeo and Juliet’s happy ending
vanishes.
Compound-Complex Sentences

Romeo loves Juliet, even though she is a
Capulet, and he tries to win her love.

While the feud escalates, more characters
die, and Romeo and Juliet’s happy ending
vanishes.
So What?
Can Help You Use Correct
Punctuations
 Compound
sentences need a
coordinating conjunction to connect
them, but they also need a comma.
 When
dependent clauses begin a
sentence, commas must follow.
Can Help Me Break Up Lengthy
Sentences
 Even
though I have a really long sentence,
and I make sure to follow all of the correct
punctuation rules; sometimes (which
means more often than not) I really need
to break up my sentences, unless I don’t
want my readers to understand what I am
saying.
Can Help Me Break Up Lengthy
Sentences
 Even
though I have a really long sentence,
sometimes I really need to break up my
sentences.
I
may follow all of the correct punctuation
rules, but my readers may still have a hard
time understanding what I am saying.
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