Simple and Compound Sentences and Its Uses

Sentence:

A sentence is defined as a group of words that make complete sense. 

We know that a sentence has two parts, a subject and a predicate. A sentence has a verb in it. 

Simple sentence: It contains a subject, a verb, and it expresses a complete thought. 

A simple sentence is also termed as an independent clause because it can stand on its own as a complete thought. 

For example: Thomas walked to school. 

Here, “Thomas” is the subject, “walked” is the verb and “to school” is a prepositional phrase. 

This sentence gives complete thought. So, it is a simple sentence. 

Compound subjects in simple sentences:

They are two or more nouns or pronouns which share the same subject. They are joined using conjunctions like, and, or, both, etc. 

For example: Jack and Tim play chess. 

Here, “Jack and Tim” is a compound subject, “play” is the verb and “chess” is the object (noun). 

Compound predicates in simple sentences 

Compound predicates or compound verbs include two or more verbs sharing the same subject. The compound verbs are joined by conjunctions. 

For example: Bailey went to the shop and bought vegetables. 

Here, “Bailey” is the subject. There are two verbs- went and bought. So, it is a compound predicate. Both the verbs share the same subject “Bailey”. 

Here is another example. 

Bailey and Matt went to the shop and bought vegetables. 

Here, Bailey and Matt are the compound subject. There are two verbs- went and bought. So, it is a compound predicate. Both the verbs share the same compound subject Bailey and Matt. 

This sentence also expresses a complete thought. 

In the sentence given above, there are two subjects and two verbs, but both the verbs share the same subjects. This sentence provides complete thought too. So, this is also a simple sentence. 

Compound sentences: These sentences are made up of two independent clauses. An independent clause consists of a subject and a verb and it provides complete thought. 

The two independent clauses or simple sentences are joined using coordinating conjunctions or semicolon (;). 

Whenever we join two independent clauses, we use a comma (,) followed by a conjunction.  

For example: Emily went to church, and Liam went to market. 

Here, “Emily went to church” and “Liam went to market” are two independent clauses. Each of these clauses provides complete thought. 

Emily went to church, and Liam went to market. 

Subject-Verb Subject Verb 

“And” is the coordinating conjunction used here. 

There are certain coordinating conjunctions that can be used to connect two simple sentences. They are for, and, but, or, yet, so and because. 

• For 

For example: James didn’t buy the car, for he could not afford it. 

• And 

For example: John played basketball, and Mathew played tennis. 

• Nor 

For example: Patrick did not come home, nor did he make a call. 

• But 

For example: Jenna ran fast, but she missed the bus. 

• Because 

For example: I didn’t reach the office on time, because I woke up late. 

• Or 

For example: You can come with me or you can go with your friends. 

• Yet 

For example: I am sick, yet I want to play in the rain. 

• So 

For example: William studied hard, so he got good marks. 

Independent clauses can also be joined using a semicolon (;). 

For example: Come at 10 am tomorrow; we’ll talk.