Sentence Structure with Examples

Sentence Structure

There are four main sentence structures in the English language.

Simple Sentences-one independent clause; contains a subject and a verb

Compound Sentences-two independent clauses joined with a conjunction; both of these clauses express a complete thought

Complex Sentences-one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (in the examples below, any dependent clauses are underlined)

Compound-Complex Sentences-a compound sentence (see above) that also contains a dependent clause (in the examples below, any dependent clauses are underlined)

Examples of Sentence Structure:

Examples of simple sentences:

Karen baked cookies for dessert.

Jeff and John are brothers.

Where are you going?

Examples of compound sentences:

Jana wants cereal, but Paul wants pancakes.

We went to the beach, and then we went to the mountains.

Chris was hungry, so he made a sandwich.

Examples of complex sentences:

When it stops raining, we will play baseball.

You should brush your teeth before you go to bed.

Because she is nice, Mrs. Thomas let us read books that we brought from home.

Examples of compound-complex sentences:

After we arrived at school, I went to gym, and Sara went to English.

I need a new coat, so mom said that she would buy one.

Will you bring chips for the party that we are having for Jan, and can you invite Marie?