Basic Sentence Structure

A simple sentence contains:

• One independent clause

• Two independent clauses

• A dependent clause

Which of the following is a simple sentence?

• "I like pizza and ice cream."

• "Although it was raining, I went for a walk."

• "The sun shines brightly in the sky."

A compound sentence contains:

• One independent clause

• Two independent clauses

• A dependent clause

Which of the following is a compound sentence?

• "I went to the park."

• "She cried because she lost her favorite toy."

• "He wanted to go to the party, but he didn't have an invitation."

In a compound sentence, the independent clauses are usually joined by:

• A comma

• A full stop

• A conjunction

Fill in the blank: "I like to swim ______ my sister prefers to play tennis."

• and

• so

• but

Fill in the blank: "John studied hard, ______ he couldn't pass the test."

• and

• so

• because

Combine the following simple sentences into a compound sentence: "The cat meowed. The dog wagged its tail."

• The cat meowed because the dog wagged its tail.

• The cat meowed, and the dog wagged its tail.

• The cat meowed, so the dog wagged its tail.

Fill in the blank: "The sun was shining _______ the sky was clear."

• and

• but

• so

Combine the following simple sentences into a compound sentence: "Mary loves to read books. She also enjoys writing stories."

• Mary loves to read books, so she also enjoys writing stories.

• Mary loves to read books and she also enjoys writing stories.

• Mary loves to read books but she also enjoys writing stories.