The 4 Sentence Types
Grammar Basics
4 Sentence Types
To understand how to make a sentence we first need to understand how to make a clause.
A clause is a group of words with both a subject and a verb.
There are two types:
Dependent clause (main or principal clause) - communicates a complete idea.
Independent clause (subordinate clause) - does not communicate a complete idea and must be supported by a Dependent Clause.
Simple Sentence
1 independent clause.
Nutrition is important.
Governments should make education free.
Technology has undoubtedly made many aspects of our lives easier.
Compound Sentence
1 or more independent clauses joined together using conjunctions like but, or and and.
Nutrition is important and people should take steps to eat healthily.
Governments should make education free or at least make it more affordable.
Technology has undoubtedly made many aspects of our lives easier but it has created many new challenges as well.
Complex Sentence
1 independent clause + 1 dependent clause.
They are usually joined with words such as as, because, while, until, even though, although, when and if.
Nutrition is important because without our health we cannot do other things in our lives.
Governments should make education free if they want their citizens to be able to get high-paying jobs.
Technology has undoubtedly made many aspects of our lives easier as many of our daily tasks can be simplified with technology.
Compound-Complex Sentence
3 or more clauses.
At least 2 of these clauses are independent clauses.
Nutrition is important and people should take steps to eat healthily because without our health we cannot do other things in our lives.
Governments should make education free or at least make it more affordable if they want their citizens to be able to get high-paying jobs.
Technology has undoubtedly made many aspects of our lives easier as many of our daily tasks can be simplified with technology but it has created many new challenges as well.