Use of compound sentence

Natasha applied for MIT, and she owns a bicycle.

Natasha applied for MIT, and Vignesh applied for Cal Tech.

 Use a compound sentence to combine only similar or related ideas that are of equal
importance

She bought an old lamp at a rummage sale, and it was brass.

She bought an old lamp at a rummage sale, and it turned out to be a valuable antique.

Cars were luxury in those days, and they did not have self starters.

Cars were luxury in those days, and few people could afford them.

 Use a compound sentence when you want your reader to think of two ideas in connection
with each other
 Use “and” to add connected ideas
 Use “but” to add contrasting ideas
 Use “or” to add connected choices or cause effect

Hockey originated in Canada______many of the best players are Canadians.

Machinery is supposed to make life easier______people seem to be busier than ever.

You must follow the recipe precisely_____the fudge will be a failure.

  It is not a good idea to begin a sentence with a conjunction

I dropped the light bulb. But it didn’t break.

I dropped the light bulb, but it didn’t break.

 A careful writer streamlines his writing by eliminating all useless words. (cut the deadwood)
 Words that add nothing to the meaning, clearness, or interest of a sentence should be
dropped
 When the subject is the same in two sentences, we use the compound predicate as a word
saver. No comma is used before a conjunction that connects two predicates

Hank swung at the ball, but he missed it by a foot.

Hank swung at the ball but missed it by a foot.

 Sometimes we want the balanced effect (special effect) of a compound sentence even
though a compound predicate would express our meaning in fewer words

Fashions come and go.

Fashions come and Fashions go.

Worksheet:

Use the right form of compounding for the following ideas:

1. You can always add salt to your food, you cannot remove it once it is in.
2. Paul wanted a date. He was too timid to ask.
3. In this study, our aim was to measure the potential differences between high and low media
multitaskers in this tendency to capture information from seemingly irrelevant sources.
Specifically, we accessed how much one can integrate visual and auditory information
automatically, using a visual search task in the pip-and-pop paradigm.
4. In other words, it’s an entirely different beast than Pluto. It may be the kind of body that
helped form Pluto itself some 4.5 billion years ago. It’s within reach for New Horizons at a
mere billion miles further along the interplanetary road.
5. Kirschner and Karpinski found that heavy Facebook users reported having lower grade point
averages (GPAs). They suggested the possible deleterious effect of simultaneously using
Facebook with other activities.
6. The heavens were clouded. I soon felt the rain coming slowly in large drops. Its violence
quickly increased.
7. My teeth chattered. I was forced to lean against a tree for support.
8. The figure passed me quickly. I lost it in the gloom.
9. There are many intriguing differences among their approaches as well. I review several of
these.
10. On the other hand, administrators must offer a competitive product. Revenues will
decrease.