Kinds of Sentences and
Their Punctuation
A sentence may be one of four kinds, depending
upon the number and type(s) of clauses it contains.
Review:
An independent
clause contains a subject, a verb, and a complete thought.
A dependent
clause contains a subject and a verb, but no complete thought.
1. A SIMPLE SENTENCE has one independent
clause.
Punctuation note:
NO commas separate two compound elements (subject, verb, direct object, indirect object, subjective complement,
etc.) in a simple sentence.
2. A COMPOUND
SENTENCE has two independent clauses joined by
A. a
coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor,
but, or, yet, so),
B. a
conjunctive adverb (e.g. however, therefore), or
C. a
semicolon alone.
Punctuation patterns (to
match A, B, and C above):
A. Independent clause,
coordinating
conjunction independent clause.
B. Independent clause;
conjunctive adverb,
independent clause.
C. Independent clause; independent clause.
3. A COMPLEX SENTENCE has one dependent
clause (headed by a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun ) joined
to an independent clause.
Punctuation patterns (to
match A, B, C and D above):
A. Dependent clause,
independent clause
B. Independent clause dependent clause
C. Independent,
nonessential dependent clause,
clause.
D. Independent essential dependent
clause clause.
4. A COMPOUND-COMPLEX
SENTENCE has two independent clauses joined to one or more dependent
clauses.
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Punctuation patterns:
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Follow the rules given above for compound and
complex sentences.
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A compound-complex sentence is merely a
combination of the two.
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CONNECTORS--COMPOUND
AND COMPLEX SENTENCES
Two independent
clauses may be joined by
1. Coordinating
conjunctions (FANBOYS)
Ic, and
ic
2. Conjunctive
adverbs
Ic;
therefore,
ic.
A dependent
(subordinate) clause may be introduced by
1. Subordinating
conjunctions (ADVERB CLAUSE) Dc, ic.
or Ic dc.
2. Relative
pronouns (ADJECTIVE CLAUSE) I, dc,
c. or
I
dc
c.
3. Relative pronoun, subordinating conjunctions, or adverbs
(NOUN CLAUSE)