Simple Sentences and Compound Sentences

VIDEO SESSION # 9
https://youtu.be/hWmKnrtlTHU

The unit sentence is the basic building block of written language, which must contain a Subject and a Predicate and must convey a complete thought. Sentences are classified into three main types: simple sentences, compound or composite sentences, and complex sentences. This classification is determined by the quantity of constituents the sentence contains; i.e. how many NP’s (subject) and VP’s (predicate) it has from initial capital to final period. Every syntactic unit containing one NP (subject) and one VP (predicate) is called a clause. Thus, a sentence will be classified as simple, compound, or complex based on the amount of clauses and the way they relate inside the unit sentence.

Why is it important for ELLs to know whether a sentence is simple, compound, or complex?

A writer must know how to define and produce simple, compound, and complex sentences before using them consciously. Once a writer knows how to write a simple sentence, it is possible to apply this basic structure to writing both compound and complex sentences. And with just these three sentence types, it is possible to write well-developed literary pieces with good sentence variety, which is the goal for written academic work.

A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause.

William wrote well.

A simple sentence may contain complex subjects and predicates to express complex ideas while maintaining a single main clause:

• Modern Man, with an eye to preserving the future of mankind through the wonders of nuclear technology, has lost his marbles. (with a Prepositional Phrase)
  
• The doctor, closing the patient’s eyes, left the room. (with an ING Phrase)
  
• Paralyzed with pain, the victim waited patiently for the police. (with an ED phrase)
  
• Mr. Jones, the new boss, call all staff to a meeting. (with a Noun in apposition)

Notice that the last four examples above, despite the complexity of the ideas expressed, are all simple, since they all have only one subject and one predicate. The elements that have been added to the base sentence are just phrases (a minor syntactic unit) and do not constitute a clause.

A compound or composite sentence contains two or more coordinate clauses:

• The school opened, but most seniors took the day off.
  
• The phone rang, and there was a knock at the door.