TYPES OF SENTENCES

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1. Simple
2. Compound
3. Complex
4. Compound-Complex

 Independent Clause :
An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and
expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence.
There are three characteristics that dependent clauses have :
1. A Subject : It gives information on what is happening in the sentence.
2. An action or predicate (verb) : it gives information on what the subject is doing.
3. Conveys a complete thought : it gives information on what is happening in the
sentence.
E.g : I like tea.
Sarah likes coffee.

The independent clause in each sentence will be highlighted in bold.

• The earth circles around the sun.

• The earth circles around the sun in our solar system.
• The teacher is always late to class.
• The teacher is always late to class because he stops for coffee on the way.
• The weather is pleasant in Jamaica.
• The weather is pleasant in Jamaica unless there is a hurricane.
• It makes sense to do the most dif�icult jobs �irst.
• It makes sense to do the most dif�icult jobs �irst so that they are out of the way.
• Skiing is my favourite hobby.
• Skiing is my favourite hobby when I am in the mountains.
• The animals are getting ready to hibernate.
• The animals are getting ready to hibernate by storing food.
 • The couple decided to get married abroad.
• The couple decided to get married abroad in order to lower the cost of the
wedding.
• I like to cycle to stay healthy.
• I like to cycle to stay healthy because it is a good form of exercise.
• My mother is an English teacher.
• My mother is an English teacher at the local school.
• The renovated town hall looks amazing.
• The renovated town hall looks amazing because the workmen took their time to
complete the intricate details.
• The football team played their best.
• The football team played their best but still did not win the game.
• The Himalayas are an incredible mountain range.
• The Himalayas are an incredible mountain range, which features the highest
mountain in the world.
• I love to go to the beach.
• I love to go to the beach but I prefer to go to the countryside.
• There were �ive of us who went to dinner.
• There were �ive of us who went to dinner and we all thought it was terrible.
• Today it is snowing.
• Today it is snowing so the fun run has been cancelled.

 Dependent Clause :
A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not
express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence.

Dependent clauses are dependent because of the presence of a :

1. Subordinating conjunction :
Because, as, since, although, when, after, although, before, how, if, since, than,
that, though, till, until, when, where, whether, while, before, in order to, though,
whenever, wherever, whether, while, even though, even if, etc.
2. Relative pronoun :
Who, that, which, whose, whom, etc.
E.g : When Jim studied in his room (what happened when he studied, the thought is
incomplete)
E.g 2 : Because I started running. (it is a part of sentence that contains subject and
verb but does not express a complete thought)

The following sentences will show the dependent clause highlighted in bold.
• When the aeroplane lands we will get off it.
• Because I cannot go to the concert, you can have my ticket.
• He can write much more neatly than his girlfriend can.
• If you work on Saturday, I will look after your children for you.
• You can sleep in my spare room, whenever you are in town.
• Though I had never thought about it until now the song did sound like one I had
heard before.
• I am not totally certain how he won the race.
• This is the cat who has gone missing.
• Autumn is the season when the leaves fall from the trees.
• My sister is the one who lives in that cottage.
• These are the people who we met on holiday.
• My father didn’t tell me why he said those things.
• They were lost and were not sure how they would �ind their way.
• What she believed was not what happened.
• My brother doesn’t know if he can drive there.
• We will give the best seats to whoever arrives the earliest.
• What the man did was not useful to the situation.
• The prize will be given to whoever wins the race.
• She �inally �inished her college course after many years of studying.
• Where is the milk which was in the fridge?
• The actor, who starred in the �ilm, was very talented.
• The bicycle which you saw belongs to my son.
• Whenever I am in Rome I speak Italian.
• If you can give me a good reason, I will let you borrow my car.
 • When the car returns, we can go home.
• Because my alarm did not go off this morning, I was late for work.
• When we arrived at the party, we were offered a drink.
• If I do not pay my tax bill, I will be charged a fee.
• If the weather is hot tomorrow we can go to the beach.
• When I read this book I feel happy.
• Does anybody know how long the train will be?
• My husband no longer plays football because he hurt his leg.
• The event cannot start until the president arrives.
• I am trying to think about what will happen next in the drama series.

 Coordinating conjunctions :
F - For
A - And
N - Nor
B - But
O - Or
Y - Yet
S – So

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