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Kinds of Sentences According to Structure

According to structure, sentences can be classified into three kinds.
1. Simple sentences

A simple sentence has only one independent Note
clause. It has a subject and a verb and conveys
complete sense. For example, You can remember the seven
coordinating conjunctions by
y I am happy. remembering the following
y She is learning to swim. acronym: FANBOYS.
y Father bought a new car. In the acronym, F stands for
2. Compound sentences for, A stands for and, N stands
for nor, B stands for but, O
A compound sentence has two or more stands for or, Y stands for yet
independent clauses. The independent clauses are and S stands for so.
joined by a coordinating conjunction—for, and,
nor, but, or, yet or so. For example,

y I like tea, but she likes coffee.
y She was tired, so she went off to sleep.
y She went to the station and bought tickets for the trip.

Remember

The part of a sentence that can stand alone and convey complete sense is called the
main, or the independent, clause. For example,
• She came to my house and went off to sleep.
In this sentence, both the parts (She came to my house + (She) went off to sleep)
are independent clauses because both these parts convey complete sense and are
independent of each other. The part of a sentence that is dependent on the other
part is called the subordinate, or the dependent, clause. For example,
• Marina had left before I could reach Jisha’s house.

In this sentence, Marina had left can stand independently and be a sentence on its
own. But I could reach Jisha’s house cannot stand alone as a complete sentence on
its own.

You will learn more about phrases and clauses in Chapter 14 and Chapter 15, respectively.

3. Complex sentences
A complex sentence has an independent clause and one or more dependent clause
/clauses. The two clauses are joined by a subordinating conjunction such as
because, that, when, until, though, although or while. For example,

y She went out for a walk although it was raining.
y The train had left before I reached the station.

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