A compound sentence is a sentence that has at least two independent clauses joined

by a comma, semicolon or conjunction. An independent clause is a clause that has a

subject and verb and forms a complete thought. An example of a compound
sentence is, 'This house is too expensive, and that house is too small.'

Kinds of Sentences
Good writers will use different kinds of sentences to make their writing interesting and
fluid. The text will sound choppy if too many simple sentences are used, and it will be
complicated and hard to read if too many long, complex sentences are used.

Following are explanations and examples of three types of sentences: simple, complex
and compound.

 A simple sentence expresses a complete thought and contains a subject and a verb.
An example would be: “Mary went to the library to study.”
A simple sentence may have a compound subject, meaning more than one, but it is still
considered a simple sentence. An example is: “Jose and Brittany are getting married.”
A simple sentence can also have a compound verb, like: “Meaghan makes her bed and
brushes her teeth every morning.
 A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
A dependent clause has a subject and verb, but is not a complete thought, so it cannot
stand alone. These two clauses are joined by a marker word like: after, although, as, as
if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until,
whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while. An example is: “He wasn't allowed to
go to the party until he did his chores.”
 A compound sentence has two simple sentences, or independent clauses. The
clauses are connected in one of three ways:
 With a coordinating conjunction. For example: "She ran quickly but still did not catch the
escaping puppy."
Note: A comma is not necessary before the conjunction if the second clause does not have a
subject before the second verb.
 With correlatives (either-or, neither-nor, not only-but also, both-and): "Either the girl will catch
the puppy or the puppy will escape."
 With a semicolon. For example: "The puppy has been waiting to go outside; finally the day has
arrived."

Construction of Compound Sentences

Some compound sentences are joined by a coordinating conjunction.
The coordinators are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. A helpful hint to help you
remember them is the first letter of each coordinator spells “fanboys.”

Examples of compounds in sentences include:

 My husband was working, so I went shopping.

 I like chocolate ice cream but don't have it very often.
 They wanted to go to Italy, for they wanted to see Venice.
 I am on a diet yet still want a cookie.
 He did not take the money, for it was not the right thing to do.

Complex Sentence Examples

Complex sentences are fascinating components of the English language. When

used properly, they can add depth to our writing. Complex sentences contain an
independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
An independent clause has the ability to stand alone as a sentence. It always makes
a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot stand alone, even though it has a
subject and a verb.
For example, "Katie sipped on her cappuccino" is an independent clause because
it's a complete sentence.
"While Katie sipped on her cappuccino, she read a good book," contains the
dependent clause, "While Katie sipped on her cappuccino…"
Although this example contains a subject (Katie) and a verb (sipped), it's not a
complete thought and, thus, not a complete sentence.
When a complex sentence joins an independent and a dependent clause together,
they can go in either order. Here's an example where the independent clause comes
first:
"I was snippy with him because I was running late for work."
Here the dependent clause comes first: "Because I was running late for work, I was
snippy with him."
To connect independent and dependent clauses, you need subordinating and/or
coordinating conjunctions. Subordinating conjunctions like “after,” “even,” or
“since” usually come at the beginning of a complex sentence. Coordinating
conjunctions like “so,” “but,” or “and” come after commas.
Simple sentences are called 'simple' because they contain only one subject and one
verb, or predicate. What's a predicate? A predicate is the main verb in a sentence and
any additional components related to the subject's actions.

For example:I will shop at the store this weekend.

In this sentence 'I' is the subject, and 'will shop' is the predicate. The verb 'shop' is
helped by the auxiliary verb 'will,' and together they form the predicate.