Compound Sentences with Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS)

A compound sentence contains two separate subject and verb pairs. You can combine two simple
sentences together with a comma and a coordinating conjunction to make one compound sentence. Here
are some examples:

F – for I drank some water, for I was thirsty.

She put on a sweater, for it was cold outside.
*for means the exact same thing as because. The only difference is that when you use for to join two
sentences together into one compound sentence, you need to use a comma before it. When you use
because to join to sentences, you don’t use a comma before it.

A – and He was tired, and he had a headache.

N – nor She doesn’t drink milk, nor does she eat butter.
I can’t whistle, nor can I sing.
He didn’t study last night, nor did he read his book.
They were not wearing jackets, nor were they carrying umbrellas.
*nor means “also not”. Nor requires unusual grammar. The first sentence will contain a negative verb.
The second sentence will contain what looks like an interrogative affirmative verb form. An auxiliary verb
(do/does/did, is/am/are/was/were), modal verb (can/could/will/would/may/might/must/should), or be main
verb (is/am/are/was/were) comes after nor and before the subject, and then the main verb comes after the
subject.

B – but Tom studied a lot, but he didn’t pass the test.

O – or He can buy the book, or he can borrow it from the library.

Y – yet Tom studied a lot, yet he didn’t pass the test.

*yet means the same thing as but.

S – so Maria was thirsty, so she drank some water.

It was cold outside, so she put on a sweater.

Assignment 22: Part I Sentence Combining-Compound Name:

Grade: Home Learning / Homework Period:

Description: See the back of the sheet and the exercises below.

Sentence-Combining Exercise 1

Combine these six pairs of sentences using the coordinating conjunctions listed below. Use each
conjunction only one time.

and, but, or, so, yet, nor

1. Some students stay on the sidewalks. Some students cut across the grass.

2. Students have to park far from their classrooms. They are often late for class.

3. Trash cans have been placed all over campus. Students still throw garbage on the ground.

4. The administration promised to improve dining hall service. The quality of the food is actually
worse this year.

5. These students do not respect the feelings of others. They don’t seem to respect themselves.

6. We must stand up for our rights today. We may find ourselves with no rights at all.

Forming Complex Sentence with Subordinating Conjunctions

A complex sentence is formed when an independent clause is connected to a dependent clause. Such
relationship it is said to be complex given one independent ideas (clause) or entity subordinates a secondary
idea (clause) in the sentence. The relationship between these two clauses is one that requires a
subordinating conjunction. This conjunction expresses a relationship as shown in the chart below.
Remember, the clause that is introduced by the subordinating conjunction is ALWAYS the subordinated
clause or the dependent clause.
Independent Clause: An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb,
expresses a complete thought, and can stand alone as a sentence.

Dependent Clause: A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb, does not
express a complete thought, and cannot stand alone as a sentence.

Complex Sentence: A complex sentence is a sentence that contains one independent clause and at least
one dependent clause.

Dependent Clause
Examples:

The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.

S V S V C

Independent Clause
Subordinating Conjunction
?

After they finished studying, John and Marry went to the movies.
S V S V C

? ? ? ?

Assignment 22: Part II Sentence Combining-Complex Name:

Grade: Home Learning / Homework Period:

Description: See the back of the sheet and the exercises below.

Sentence-Combining Exercise 2

Combine the following sentences using the subordinating conjunctions listed below. Again, use each
conjunction only one time.
 unless, because, even though, if, while, although

1. Some students stay on the sidewalks. Some students cut across the grass.

2. Students have to park far from their classrooms. They are often late for class.

3. Trash cans have been placed all over campus. Students still throw garbage on the ground.

4. The administration promises to improve dining hall service. The quality of the food may actually
improve this year.

5. These students do not respect the feelings of others. They do seem to respect themselves.

6. We must stand up for our rights today. We may find ourselves with no rights at all.