Transforming Simple

Sentences to Complex and

Compound Sentences
 Transformation of Simple Sentences to
Compound Sentences
• Simple sentences are statements that have a subject and predicate.
• A simple sentence is just one independent clause.
• Compound sentences, on the contrary, can be said to be two simple
sentences (two main clauses) joined together by a coordinating
conjunction or a conjunctive adverb.
• Simple sentences can consist of a phrase (probably a participle
phrase) and a clause. When converting such a sentence, you can
transform the participle phrase into a clause followed by a
conjunction and the main clause.
• The only thing you will have to take into account when making such a
transformation is to conjugate the verb according to the verb in the
main clause.

Example 1:
Raising his glass, he proposed a toast.
He raised his glass and proposed a toast.
• Simple sentences can consist of a phrase (probably a participle
phrase) and a clause. When converting such a sentence, you can
transform the participle phrase into a clause followed by a
conjunction and the main clause.
• The only thing you will have to take into account when making such a
transformation is to conjugate the verb according to the verb in the
main clause.

Example 1:
Raising his glass, he proposed a toast.
He raised his glass and proposed a toast.
• When converting simple sentences with infinitive phrases into
compound sentences, you must transform the infinitive phrase into a
clause and combine it with the main clause in the sentence with a
coordinating conjunction.

Example 2:
Joana has to work all night to complete the pending documents.
Joana has to complete the pending documents, so she has to work all
night.
• The conversion rules for simple sentences with adverbial phrases are the
same as those with infinitive phrases. You must convert the adverbial
phrase into a clause and combine the rest of the sentence with a suitable
coordinating conjunction.
Example 3:
The President congratulated Ramkumar for his valuable contribution to
the field of medicine.
Ramkumar made a valuable contribution to the field of medicine, so the
President congratulated him.
Example 4:
The little boy jumped in excitement on seeing his favourite cartoon
characters.
The little boy saw his favourite cartoon characters, so he jumped in
excitement.
 Transformation of Simple Sentences to
Complex Sentences
• Complex sentences are those sentences with a dependent clause and
an independent clause combined using a subordinating conjunction.
 Examples of Complex Sentences
Complex Sentences with a Subordinating Conjunction in the Beginning
After we finish school,/ let us play in the park.

Subordinating conjunction forming the subordinate clause,/ independent clause

As soon as they come,/ we will leave.

Subordinating conjunction forming the subordinate clause,/ independent clause

In case you find Raam’s number,/ let me know.

Check out the following examples to learn how to transform a simple
sentence into a complex sentence.

Example 1:
• Despite being rich, Claire is not happy.
• Although Clare is rich, she is not happy.

• Example 2:
• Besides being a doctor, she is an artist too.
• Not only is she a doctor but also an artist.
 Transformation of Complex Sentences and
Compound Sentences

• When transforming a complex sentence into a compound sentence,

you must locate the dependent clause and convert it into an
independent clause. This can be done by replacing the subordinating
conjunction with an appropriate coordinating conjunction and
altering the sentence structure accordingly to retain the sentence’s
meaning.
 Examples
(Complex) (Compound)

• Though it was raining, we went • It was raining, but we went out.

out.
• If you want to reach the station • You should leave now, or you will
in time, you should leave now. not reach the station in time.

• Not only did we finish our work • We finished our work early and
early but also went for a walk in went for a walk in the park as
the park. well.
• On the other hand, when transforming a compound sentence into a
complex sentence, you must change one independent clause into a
dependent clause and retain the other independent clause.
• Now, knowing independent clauses has to be made dependent
requires careful consideration and execution. Changing the
conjunctions is the one thing you must do as the rest of the sentence
would mostly remain the same.
 Examples
(Compound) (Complex)

• We were not sure of the • Though we were not sure of the

outcome, but we went forward outcome, we went forward with
with it. it.

• Rachel was not happy with her • As Rachel was not happy with
current job and so she quit. her current job, she quit.
Change of Conjunctions in Sentence Transformation
 Let us Review
Frequently Asked Questions on Transformation of Simple, Complex, Compound
Sentences
 What is a simple sentence?
• A simple sentence has a single independent clause, sometimes can be
accompanied by a participle phrase or an infinitive phrase.

What is a compound sentence?

• A compound sentence is a sentence that has two independent clauses
combined by a coordinating conjunction.

What is a complex sentence?

• A complex sentence is a sentence that has a dependent clause and an
independent clause separated by a subordinating conjunction.
How can we transform a simple sentence into
a compound sentence?
• A simple sentence can be transformed into a compound sentence by
converting the infinitive/participle phrase into an independent clause
and using a coordinating conjunction to link the newly formed
independent clause and the existing independent clause of the simple
sentence.
 How can we transform a complex sentence
into a compound sentence?
• All you have to do to transform a complex sentence into a compound
sentence is to change the dependent clause into an independent
clause and use a coordinating conjunction instead of the existing
subordinating conjunction.
• See that you use an appropriate conjunction to keep the sentence’s
meaning unchanged.
Transforming sentence into its
passive form/voice
 Active vs Passive voice: What’s the
difference?
Active and passive are the two grammatical voices in English.
Neither is inherently better than the other, but each is suited to certain
types of writing.
 Active vs Passive voice: What’s the
difference?
Active Voice
• As we’ve learned, in the active
voice, the sentence’s subject
performs the action. Here are
two examples of sentences in
the active voice:
Example: Shira likes birdwatching.
Passive Voice
• In the passive voice, the action’s
target is the focus, and the verb acts
upon the subject.
• The subject is acted upon by the
verb. Every sentence in the passive
voice contains two verbs:
• A conjugated form of “to be”
• The main verb’s past participle
Example: Birdwatching is liked by Shira.
More on passive voice…
• A verb is in the passive voice when the subject of the sentence is
acted on by the verb.

Example: John threw the ball. (active)

The ball was thrown by John. (passive)
The ball (the subject) receives the action of the verb, and was thrown
is in the passive voice.
 Transforming Affirmative
(Positive) into Negative
Sentences
The transition from positive to negative sentences is straightforward. It involves the
addition of 'not' or the contraction 'nt'.
The process of transforming affirmative to
negative sentences:
• Identify the main verb in the sentence.
• Add 'not' after the 'to be' verb forms (am, is, are, was, were).
• For sentences with modal verbs (will, would, shall, should, can, may,
might, etc.), insert 'not' between the modal auxiliary and the main
verb.
• For sentences with helping verbs like 'have', 'has', and 'had', place
'not' after the helping verb to create a negative sentence.
• If 'have', 'has', and 'had' are used as main verbs, use the verb forms of
'do' followed by 'not' and 'have' to create a negative sentence.
The process of transforming affirmative to
negative sentences:
• For positive sentences with 'do' forms of verbs (do, does, did) as the
main verb, add 'not do' after the verb for a negative transformation.
• For a positive sentence with a single main verb, use various forms of
the 'do' verb (do, does, did) followed by 'not' and the main verb for
the negative transformation.
• In sentences with two verbs - one or more auxiliary verbs and a main
verb, place 'not' between the helping verb and the main verb.
 Example
Affirmative
• He is intelligent. (is)
• They are excited. (are)
• It was a sunny day. (was)
• They were at the library. (were)
• I have a dog. (have)
• He has a car. (has)
• They had a plan. (had)
• She did it. (did)
• John does his chores. (does)
• I do my homework. (do)
Negative
• He is not (isn’t) intelligent.
• They are not (aren’t) excited
• It was not (wasn’t) a sunny day.
• They were not (weren’t) at the library.
• I do not have (don’t) have a dog.
• He does not have (doesn’t have) a car.
• They did not have (didn’t have) a plan.
• She did not do (didn’t do) it.
• John does not do (doesn’t do) his chores.
• I do not do (don’t do) my homework.