TEACHER’S NOTES

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Compound and Complex Sentences

Activity Type Introduction

Reading and writing In this compound and complex sentences worksheet, students
exercises review and practice sentence structure and sentence types.

Procedure
Focus
Give each student a copy of the two-page worksheet.
Simple, compound and
complex sentences
Students begin by reading about the characteristics of simple
Coordinating and and compound sentences. The students then rewrite pairs of
subordinating simple sentences to make compound sentences with coordinating
conjunctions conjunctions.

Exercise A - Possible answers

Aim
1. J ack may go to Bali for his summer vacation, or he may just
To review and practice decide to stay home and relax.
sentence structure and
sentence types. 2. J apan is a small country with a large population, but Canada
is a large country with a small population.

Preparation 3. Samantha doesn't like carrots, and she doesn't like broccoli.
Make one copy of the
two-page worksheet for 4. Fred has never been married, nor does he have children.
each student.
5. Toyotas are popular cars, for they are affordable and well made.

Level Next, students read information about complex sentences. The

students then combine pairs of simple sentences to make complex
Intermediate (B1) sentences using subordinating conjunctions.

Remind the students that they do not have to begin with a

Time subordinating conjunction, and that if the dependent clause
45 minutes comes after the independent clause, a comma is not used.

Exercise B - Possible answers

1. If you exercise, you can lose weight and gain strength.

2. When I grow up, I will become a doctor.

3. B
 ecause Tom attended all his classes and studied diligently, he
received an excellent final grade.

4. A
 lthough Joan is very wealthy, she lives in a small apartment
and drives an old car.

5. S
 ince New York was established in 1624, it has become the
most important city in America.

(continued on the next page)

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 TEACHER’S NOTES

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Compound and Complex Sentences

Activity Type Procedure continued

Reading and writing In the last exercise, students read a paragraph to identify run-on
exercises and fragment errors and then rewrite the paragraph so that the
sentences are correct.

Focus Exercise C - Possible answers

Simple, compound and
complex sentences The Eiffel tower gets its name from Gustave Eiffel, who was a
reknowned architect at the time. It was constructed for the 1889
Coordinating and
Paris Exposition Universelle (World's Fair). The tower consists
subordinating
conjunctions of more than 18,000 pieces of wrought iron, and it contains 2.5
million rivets. It took several hundred workers two years to
assemble the tower. It stands at 1000 feet tall and was the
Aim world's tallest building until 1930 when the Chrysler Building in
To review and practice New York surpassed it. The tower was originally only intended as
sentence structure and a temporary structure, and it was almost torn down in 1909 but
sentence types.
is now an iconic and globally recognised piece of architecture. It
has become so popular that it now attracts over seven million
Preparation visitors per year.
Make one copy of the
Note: Run-on errors can be corrected in two ways. Either the
two-page worksheet for
student can choose to correct the error by adding a full stop and
each student.
a capital letter to make two simple sentences, or they can add
a comma and a coordinating conjunction to make a compound
Level sentence. However, students should be encouraged not to overuse
simple sentences in their writing.
Intermediate (B1)

Time
45 minutes

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 PARAGRAPH WRITING

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Compound and Complex Sentences

Sentences come in three types: simple sentences, compound sentences, and complex sentences.

Simple sentences contain at least one subject and one verb. In the example below, the subject
is underlined and the verb is in bold.

Example: John ate breakfast.

Compound sentences contain two simple sentences connected by a coordinating conjunction

such as, 'and', 'but', or 'so', and a comma that comes before the conjunction. If two sentences
are combined without a comma or a conjunction, they are known as run-on errors. Compound
sentences also contain two subjects and two verbs. The example below is a correct compound
sentence.

Example: John didn't eat breakfast, so he already felt hungry by midmorning.

A. Rewrite the simple sentence pairs below to make compound sentences. Choose
from one of the coordinating conjunctions below to combine the sentences.

for and nor but or so yet

1. Jack may go to Bali for his summer vacation. He may just decide to stay home and relax.

..................................................................................................................................

2. Japan is a small country with a large population. Canada is a large country with a small
population.

..................................................................................................................................

3. Samantha doesn't like carrots. She does not like broccoli.

..................................................................................................................................

4. Fred has never been married. He doesn't have children.

..................................................................................................................................

5. Toyotas are popular cars. They are affordable and well made.

..................................................................................................................................

Complex sentences contain at least one subject and one verb but may include up to two
subjects and two verbs. They are made up of one independent clause and a dependent clause
that are linked by a subordinating conjunction such as, 'although', 'because', or 'when'.

A clause is independent if it can stand on its own as a simple sentence. A clause is dependent if
it cannot stand on its own as a simple sentence. For example, the clause, 'Because of the heavy
traffic' is not a complete sentence and needs to combine with an independent clause to make a
complete sentence. A dependent clause on its own is known as a fragment error. The example
below is a correct complex sentence.

Example: Because of the heavy traffic, John was late for work.

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 PARAGRAPH WRITING

WORKSHEETS, ACTIVITIE S & GA ME S Compound and Complex Sentences

B. Combine the simple sentence pairs below to make complex sentences. Choose
from one of the subordinating conjunctions below to combine the sentences.

since if although because when while after

1. You exercise. You can lose weight and gain strength.

..................................................................................................................................

2. I grow up. I will become a doctor.

..................................................................................................................................

3. Tom attended all his classes and studied diligently. He received an excellent final grade.

..................................................................................................................................

4. Joan is very wealthy. She lives in a small apartment and drives an old car.

..................................................................................................................................

5. New York was established in 1624. It has become the most important city in America.

..................................................................................................................................

C. The paragraph below contains a number of run-on and fragment errors. Highlight
them and then rewrite the paragraph so that all the sentences are correct.

The Eiffel tower gets its name from Gustave Eiffel. Who was a reknowned architect at the time.
It was constructed for the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle (World's Fair). The tower consists of
more than 18,000 pieces of wrought iron it contains 2.5 million rivets. It took several hundred
workers two years to assemble the tower it stands at 1000 feet tall and was the world's
tallest building until 1930. When the Chrysler Building in New York surpassed it. The tower was
originally only intended as a temporary structure it was almost torn down in 1909 but is now
an iconic and globally recognised piece of architecture it has become so popular that it now
attracts over seven million visitors per year.

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

..................................................................................................................................

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