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Sentence Structure

The document explains the four types of sentence structures in English: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. It provides definitions, examples, and tips for mastering these structures to enhance written expression and clarity. Understanding these sentence types allows for better communication of ideas and relationships between them.

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14 views3 pages

Sentence Structure

The document explains the four types of sentence structures in English: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences. It provides definitions, examples, and tips for mastering these structures to enhance written expression and clarity. Understanding these sentence types allows for better communication of ideas and relationships between them.

Uploaded by

ayeshaambreen37
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Sentence Structure

A sentence is a collection of words assembled in such a way that they present a complete thought or idea. There
are four sentence structures in English: simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences.

Mastering these different types of sentences will allow you to highlight varying relationships between ideas,
improve your written expression and add variety to your writing.

1. Simple sentences:

A simple sentence is the easiest type of sentence to construct, and they are formidable in academic writing because
they allow you to convey ideas in a clear and simple manner.

A simple sentence consists of a subject, verb and object. The subject is the noun (at the beginning of the sentence)
being or doing the action to follow. The verb is the action word which describes what the noun is being or doing.
The object comes after the verb and is the result of the action taking place.

Examples:

Michael and Adam studied Biology.

This course includes practical report writing.

This research examines the health effects of secondhand cigarette smoking in pregnant
women.

The government argues that a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic can be reached by
setting up mass vaccination campaigns throughout the country.

2. Compound sentences:

A compound sentence is composed of two or more simple sentences which can stand on their own as complete
sentences. You write a compound sentence when you have decided that the simple sentences are related or have
an implied logical relationship. These simple sentences can thus be joined together in three ways:

● Using a coordinating conjunction: and, but, for, or, nor, yet, so


● Using a semi-colon (;)
● Using a semi-colon (;) and a conjunctive adverb: however, therefore, furthermore, in contrast, similarly, for
example, for instance, undoubtedly, nonetheless, hence, accordingly, consequently, thus

CC-BY-NC-SA 2024 FHS Writing Lab. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Examples:

Michael and Adam studied Biology, but Jessica studied music and drama.

This course includes practical report writing; an exercise designed to encourage critical
thinking in students.

The government argues that a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic can be reached by
setting up mass vaccination campaigns throughout the country; however, its success
depends heavily on the population’s willingness in getting vaccinated.

3. Complex sentences:

To understand complex sentences, we first need to understand dependent and independent clauses. An
independent clause is a simple sentence which can stand on its own. On the other hand, a dependent clause is a
part of a sentence (containing a subject and a verb) which cannot stand on its own, since it does not express a
complete thought. However, dependent clauses are quite useful in academic writing because they add extra
information and help to communicate complex ideas.

A complex sentence connects an independent clause with one or more dependent clauses. These two clauses can
be linked by a subordinate conjunction placed at the beginning of a dependent clause: although, because, once,
just as, whereas, unless, even though, while, even if, as, before, whenever, since, provided that, wherever, whether,
so that, than, rather than.

Note: Dependent clauses may be located before or after the independent clause.

Examples:

Even though these results are accurate, a larger study is still needed to prove the
credibility of the findings.

The director would not sign the contract unless a lawyer was present.

When he finishes university, Richard hopes to move to Canada.

Richard hopes to move to Canada when he finishes university.

CC-BY-NC-SA 2024 FHS Writing Lab. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
4. Compound-complex sentences:

As you may have guessed, this sentence type combines a compound sentence with a complex one. Essentially,
compound-complex sentences consist of two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

These sentences are indeed tricky, and they take some practice to write. It is advisable to use them only if you do
have something complex to express and you feel that it would be best expressed in one sentence.

Examples:

David was confused about the assignment that was due on Tuesday, so he asked his tutor
for help.

While the first study was too general, the second study was too narrow and it was
conducted without ethics approval.

We were all delighted when Nathan came home; he had been away so long!

Although John loves to write, he did not have a lot of time to do so lately, for he has been
reading numerous novels.

Some additional tips:

● Remember that a sentence only conveys one (main) thought.


● Ultimately, the type of sentence structure you choose is up to you. Your choice should be guided by what you
feel the reader needs in order to be carefully guided through your ideas.
● Choose to write simple sentences more often than not (practice all four sentence structures, with a particular
focus on simple sentences).
● Avoid composing sentences which are too long for the reader to grasp.
● If you can clearly combine subject, verb and object then you are well on your way to communicating clear ideas.

Adapted from:
University of Adelaide, Australia. Sentence Structure. Available at: https://www.adelaide.edu.au (accessed: 15th June 2021).
Lincoln University, New Zealand. Sentence Structure. Available at: https://ltl.lincoln.ac.nz (accessed: 15th June 2021).
Liberty University, United States. Sentence Construction. Available at: https://www.liberty.edu (accessed: 15th June 2021).

Compiled by Neelakshi Mungra, 2021. Revised, 2024.

CC-BY-NC-SA 2024 FHS Writing Lab. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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