Many feel that a sentence
is simple, complex or compound based on the number of words it is made up of.
This has no doubt posited a serious problem in the identification of sentences
among learners, students and graduates of English language. Hence, the need for
this lesson which is solely aimed at making you know when to call a sentence
'simple', 'complex' and 'compound.'
What is a Sentence?
A sentence is made up of
one or more clauses. It is the highest grammatical unit in the grammatical rank
scale. See the grammatical rank scale below:
5. Sentence.
4. Clause.
3. Phrase/Group
2. Word.
1. Morpheme.
In the grammatical rank
scale (as stated above), morphemes come together to form words; words come
together to form phrases/groups; phrases come together to form clauses and
clauses come together to form sentences; thus, making the sentence the highest
grammatical unit.
Types of Sentence
Though some textbooks
will tell you that there are four types of sentence, making the 'complex
compound' the fourth type, you should know that there are basically three (3)
types of sentence:
1. Simple sentence.
2. Complex sentence.
3. Compound sentence.
Simple sentence
A simple sentence is a
sentence that is made up of one main/independent/alpha clause (a clause that
can stand on its own and still make complete sense). A simple sentence
expresses only one idea or thought.
Examples
1. The baby cried.
2. He is going to school with his mum.
3. The guy is talking.
A sentence can be lengthy
and still be a simple sentence provided it expresses a single thought or idea.
Examples
1. The gang that snatched the minister's car has been nabbed.
2. The boy who was wearing the red shirt came late.
The above sentences are
simple sentences regardless of their length because they express an idea or
thought.
Complex sentence
A complex sentence is a
sentence that has at least one main/independent clause and one
subordinate/dependent clause. That is to say a complex sentence can have more
than one main clause and subordinate clause.
Example:
1. When I was an undergraduate, we were taught by Nigerians and
professors.
In the sentence above,
'when I was an undergraduate' is the subordinate or dependent clause because it
cannot stand on its own and make complete sense. Its real meaning is dependent
on the main clause, 'we were taught by Nigerians and Professors.'
You can also have the
main clause coming before the subordinate clause.
Example:
The party chieftains returned to rest at 1:00am as their
subordinates were left to collate the results.
In the sentence above,
you have the main clause 'the party chieftains returned to rest at 1:00am’ coming
before the subordinate clause 'as their subordinates were left to collate the
results.'
A complex sentence is
also made up of two or more subordinate and main clauses.
Example:
When I was a child, I never took my English lessons and
assignments seriously because I was oblivious of the benefits of studying hard.
The example above is what
many will refer to as 'complex compound sentence' because it comprises two
subordinate clauses ('when I was a child' and 'because I was oblivious of the
benefits of studying hard') and two main clauses ('I never took my English
lessons and 'I never took my assignments seriously'). However, this sentence is
still a complex sentence irrespective of the number of subordinate and main
clauses.
A complex sentence is
complex because you have two or more clauses that are not of equal grammatical
status.
Compound sentence
This is a sentence that
is made up of two or more main clauses. A compound sentence comprises two or
more main/independent clauses which are linked by coordinating conjunctions. We
use the coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but) to link these clauses.
Examples
The woman returned from the market and cooked lunched for her
children.
The above sentence is a
compound sentence because it is made up of two independent clauses ('the woman
returned from the market' and 'cooked lunch for her children') that are linked
by the coordinator 'and.'
A compound sentence can
have up to three clauses or more.
Example:
The woman returned from the market, cooked lunch for her children
and went straight to bed.
In the above sentence,
you have three main clauses which are linked by the coordinator 'and.'
1. The woman returned from the market.
2. ...cooked lunch for her children.
3. ...went straight to bed.
You can have all the
coordinators in a compound sentence.
Example
Tammy and Rose love themselves, but they always fight or abuse
each other.
In the sentence above,
you have the three coordinating conjunctions in English (and, or, but) linking
the main clauses.
In sum, it is important
to note that it is not the number of words that make a sentence simple, complex
or compound.
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