Sentence Complexity and Embedding

Compounding

Combining Sentences

While the simple sentence consists of one subject-predicate pairing, as in the sentences in Activity 13.1, we must recall that it is possible to create sentences that combine two or more clauses together.  When we first looked at the different types of sentences that exist, we saw that one principle we could use to group sentences was to look at the number of clauses in each sentence.  We called this the principle of sentence complexity, and we said that sentences consisting of one clause alone were simple sentences, but sentences that combined two or more clauses together could be further divided into compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences.  These are the traditional terms taught in elementary or middle schools in the U.S.  We will first look at the process of compounding in this chapter, and then look at the process that create complex sentences in the next, followed by looking closely at complex sentences in detail.

Activity 13.2: Simple or Compound?

Using your definition of a clause as a subject-predicate pairing, and using the definition of a compound sentence as one that combines two or more clauses, determine which sentences below are simple and which are compound.

1. Liz and Ned worked in the yard last weekend. ___________________
2. Liz mowed the lawn, and Ned weeded the flowers. ____________________
3. There were many weeds in the garden. ____________________
4. There had been a lot of rain recently, so the grass was long. ____________________
5. Liz doesn’t like to mow, but the grass was too long to ignore. ____________________
7. It was wet, too. ____________________
6. Ned yanked dandelions after dandelion, yet the roots stayed in the ground. ________________
8. Dandelions have very long and thick roots. ____________________
9. Liz and Ned usually pay a lawn service company. _____________________
10. Yard maintenance takes a lot of time. _____________________

Answers

Page 3