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EXPRESSING IDEA IN A SENTENCE

a. Sentences: Simple, Compound, and Complex


A common weakness in writing is the lack of varied sentences. Becoming aware of three general
types of sentences--simple, compound, and complex--can help you vary the sentences in your
writing.
The most effective writing uses a variety of the sentence types explained below.
1.1. Simple Sentences
A simple sentence has the most basic elements that make it a sentence: a subject, a verb, and a
completed thought.
Examples of simple sentences include the following:
1. Joe waited for the train.
"Joe" = subject, "waited" = verb
2. The train was late.
"The train" = subject, "was" = verb
3. Mary and Samantha took the bus.
"Mary and Samantha" = compound subject, "took" = verb
4. I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station.
"I" = subject, "looked" = verb
5. Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station early but waited until noon for the bus.
"Mary and Samantha" = compound subject, "arrived" and "waited" = compound verb
Tip: If you use many simple sentences in an essay, you should consider revising some of the
sentences into compound or complex sentences (explained below).
The use of compound subjects, compound verbs, prepositional phrases (such as "at the bus
station"), and other elements help lengthen simple sentences, but simple sentences often are short.
The use of too many simple sentences can make writing "choppy" and can prevent the writing from
flowing smoothly.
A simple sentence can also be referred to as an independent clause. It is referred to as
"independent" because, while it might be part of a compound or complex sentence, it can also stand
by itself as a complete sentence.
1.2. Compound Sentences
A compound sentence refers to a sentence made up of two independent clauses (or complete
sentences) connected to one another with a coordinating conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions
are easy to remember if you think of the words "FAN BOYS":
For
Or
And
Yet
Nor
So
But
Examples of compound sentences include the following:

1. Joe waited for the train, but the train was late.
2. I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station, but they arrived at the station before noon and
left on the bus before I arrived.
3. Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon, and they left on the bus before I
arrived.
4. Mary and Samantha left on the bus before I arrived, so I did not see them at the bus station.
Tip: If you rely heavily on compound sentences in an essay, you should consider revising some of
them into complex sentences (explained below).
Coordinating conjunctions are useful for connecting sentences, but compound sentences often are
overused. While coordinating conjunctions can indicate some type of relationship between the two
independent clauses in the sentence, they sometimes do not indicate much of a relationship. The
word "and," for example, only adds one independent clause to another, without indicating how the
two parts of a sentence are logically related. Too many compound sentences that use "and" can
weaken writing. Clearer and more specific relationships can be established through the use of
complex sentences.
1.3. Complex Sentences
A complex sentence is made up of an independent clause and one or more dependent
clauses connected to it. A dependent clause is similar to an independent clause, or complete
sentence, but it lacks one of the elements that would make it a complete sentence.
Examples of dependent clauses include the following:
because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon
while he waited at the train station
after they left on the bus
Dependent clauses such as those above cannot stand alone as a sentence, but they can be added
to an independent clause to form a complex sentence.
Dependent clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions. Below are some of the most common
subordinating conjunctions:
after
though
although
unless
as
until
because
when
before
whenever
even though
whereas
if
wherever
since
while
A complex sentence joins an independent clause with one or more dependent clauses.
The dependent clauses can go first in the sentence, followed by the independent clause, as in the
following:
Tip: When the dependent clause comes first, a comma should be used to separate the two clauses.
1. Because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon, I did not see them at the
station.
2. While he waited at the train station, Joe realized that the train was late.
3. After they left on the bus, Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at the train station.

Conversely, the independent clauses can go first in the sentence, followed by the dependent clause,
as in the following:
Tip: When the independent clause comes first, a comma should not be used to separate the two
clauses.
1. I did not see them at the station because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before
noon.
2. Joe realized that the train was late while he waited at the train station.
3. Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at the train station after they left on the bus.
Complex sentences are often more effective than compound sentences because a complex
sentence indicates clearer and more specific relationships between the main parts of the sentence.
The word "before," for instance, tells readers that one thing occurs before another. A word such as
"although" conveys a more complex relationship than a word such as "and" conveys.
The term periodic sentence is used to refer to a complex sentence beginning with a dependent
clause and ending with an independent clause, as in "While he waited at the train station, Joe realized
that the train was late."
Periodic sentences can be especially effective because the completed thought occurs at the end of it,
so the first part of the sentence can build up to the meaning that comes at the end.
Taken from : http://www2.ivcc.edu/rambo/eng1001/sentences.htm
Let's use this time now to incorporate what we have learned so far.
Person A: "Hi Jack. What are you doing?"
Person B: "Hi Mary. I'm filling out a job application."
Person A: "Are you finished with school already?"
Person B: "No. I have one more semester, but it would be great to have a job lined up."
Person A: "How is your day going?"
Person B: "Quite busy. I'm preparing for my presentation tomorrow on our marketing strategy. I'm not
even half done yet."
Person A: "You must feel stressed out now."
Person B: "That's an understatement."
Person A: "What are you doing now?"
Person B: "I'm playing pool with my friends at a pool hall."
Person A: "I didn't know you play pool. Are you having fun?"
Person B: "I'm having a great time. How about you? What are you doing?"
Person A: "I'm taking a break from my homework. There seems to be no end to the amount of work I
have to do."
Person B: "I'm glad I'm not in your shoes."
Those dialogs taken from http://www.talkenglish.com/lessondetails.

Gagasan dalam Teks Berbentuk Kalimat


Sebuah teks tersusun dari beberapa kalimat. Sedangkan kalimat berisi sebuah klausa atau beberapa
klausa yang digabung. Kalimat dapat didefinisikan sebagai satuan bahasa berupa kata atau rangkaian
kata-kata yang dapat berdiri sendiri dan menyatakan makna yang lengkap. Adapun menurut
bentuknya (mode), kalimat dapat dibuat dalam bentuk lisan maupun tulisan.
Sebagai pembelajar bahasa Inggris, siswa perlu untuk mengetahui bagaimana menggabungkan katakata dan klausa untuk membuat kalimat dan bagaimana menyusun berbagai macam tipe klausa
dalam kalimat. Oleh sebab itu, siswa perlu memahami apa itu klausa, frasa, kata dalam kalimat.
Klausa (clause) adalah satuan makna yang menyampaikan pesan. Pada dasarnya, bisa dikatakan
sebagai klausa apabila kumpulan kata tersebut berisi subject dan sebuah/sekumpulan kata kerja.
Frasa (phrase) terdiri dari potongan-potongan atau kelompok kata yang memiliki fungsi tertentu,
namun tidak terdapat subject yang diikuti oleh kata kerja.
Untuk lebih jelas, berikut ini adalah tabel yang membedakan antara teks, kalimat, klausa, frasa dan
kata yang diambil dari buku A New Grammar Companion oleh Beverly Derewianka.
Text Level

Sentence Level
Clause Level
Group/phrase Level
Word (lexical) Level

Alice caught the baby with some difficulty, as it was a queer-shaped little creature, and held out its
arms and legs in all directions, just like a star-fish, thought Alice. The poor little thing was snorting
like a steam-engine when she caught it. It kept doubling itself up and straightening itself out again,
so that altogether, for the first minute or two, it was as much as she could do to hold it.
The poor little thing was snorting like a steam-engine
when she caught it
The poor little thing was snorting like a steam-engine
The poor little thing
was snorting
like a steam-engine
The
poor
little
thing
was
snorting
like a
steam-engine

Kalimat dikelompokkan menjadi tiga jenis; simple sentence(kalimat


sentence(kalimat majemuk), complex sentence(kalimat lengkap).

simpel),

compound

1) Simple Sentence (Kalimat simpel)


Simple Sentence (Kalimat simpel) adalah kumpulan kata yang mengungkapkan satu pikiran utama.
Kalimat simpel hanya memiliki induk kalimat. Kalimat simple ini juga disebut klause (a clause), yaitu
kalimat yang hanya terdiri satu subyek (a subject) dan satu kata kerja (a verb).
Contoh:
- Joe waited for the train.
"Joe" = subject, "waited" = verb
The train was late.
"The train" = subject, "was" = verb
My mother is cooking
My sister is beautiful
2) A compound sentence (kalimat majemuk)
A compound sentence adalah kalimat yang memiliki setidaknya dua klausa independen bergabung
dengan koma, titik koma atau bersamaan.Klausa independen adalah klausa yang memiliki subjek dan
kata kerja serta membentuk pikiran yang lengkap .
Contoh kalimat majemuk adalah,'This house is too expensive, and that house is too small.' Kalimat ini
adalah A compound sentence (kalimat majemuk) karena memiliki dua klausa independen, 'This house
is too expensive, and that house is too small.' dipisahkan oleh koma dan hubungannya 'and.'
Contoh Kalimat Compound Sentence dengan Coordinate Conjunction:
- He didnt come last night, for he fell asleep.

Sebuah kalimat majemuk mengacu pada kalimat terdiri dari dua klausa independen ( atau kalimat
lengkap ) yang terhubung satu sama lain dengan hubungannya koordinasi (coordinate conjunction),
seperti:
- For
- Or
- And
- Yet
- Nor
- So
- But
3) Complex Sentences
Sebuah kalimat yang kompleks terdiri dari klausa independen dan satu klausa dependen atau lebih.
Sebuah klausa dependen mirip dengan klausul independen, atau kalimat lengkap , tetapi tidak
memiliki salah satu elemen yang akan membuatnya menjadi kalimat lengkap .
Contoh klausa dependen seperti berikut ini :
- because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon
- while he waited at the train station
- after they left on the bus
Contoh klausa independen seperti berikut ini :
- I did not see them at the station.
- Joe realized that the train was late.
- Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at the train station.
Klausa dependen seperti yang di atas tidak dapat berdiri sendiri sebagai kalimat, tetapi mereka dapat
ditambahkan ke klausa independen untuk membentuk kalimat kompleks .
Klausul dependen dimulai dengan mensubordinasi konjungsi. Di bawah ini adalah beberapa
subordinating conjuctions yang paling umum:
- after
- because
- although
- before
- as
Sebuah kalimat kompleks terbentuk dari klausa independen dengan satu atau lebih klausa dependen.
Klausul dependen bisa muncul lebih dahulu dalam kalimat, kemudian baru diikuti oleh klausa
independen , seperti berikut :
- Because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon, I did not see them at the
station.
- While he waited at the train station, Joe realized that the train was late.
- After they left on the bus, Mary and Samantha realized that Joe was waiting at the train station.

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