In this lesson, I will discuss Kinds of Sentences According to Structure in English Grammer with Examples, especially Simple, Complex, and Compound. This lesson is for class 9 10, SSC, 11,12 HSC., and other students. For better understanding this lesson, first you have to learn Phrases and Clauses.
Simple, Complex and Compound sentences
In English grammar, there are three kinds of sentences according to their structure. These are
- Simple Sentence
- Complex Sentence
- Compound Sentence
Recommended article👉 Transformation of Sentences: Simple to Complex to Compound
Simple Sentence
A simple sentence is a sentence having a subject and a finite verb.
Example:
- John is an astronaut. Here ‘John‘ is the subject and ‘is‘ is the finite verb.
- Despite his illness, he went to college. Here ‘He‘ is the subject and ‘went‘ is the finite verb.
Complex Sentence
A complex sentence is a sentence having a principal clause and one or many subordinate clauses.
Some linking words connect the subordinate clause with the principal clause. The connectors usually sit at the beginning of the subordinate clause. Some of the linking words/ connectors are given below:
| if | though | although |
| as | because | since |
| till | that | so that |
| until | unless | when |
| while | which | why |
| how | where | who |
| before | after | whether |
Example:
- Although he was ill, he went to college. Here ‘He went to college‘ is the principal clause. And ‘Although he was ill‘ is the subordinate clause.
- I know that he would help me. Here ‘I know‘ is the principal clause. And ‘that he would help me‘ is the subordinate clause.
Compound sentence
A compound sentence is a sentence having multiple principal clauses connected by ‘and, but, or, yet, and so, therefore, otherwise’, etc.
Example:
- Read attentively or you will fail. Here ‘Read attentively‘ and ‘you will fail‘ are two principal clauses connected by the coordinating conjunction ‘or‘.
- He was ill but went to school. Here ‘He was ill’ and ‘went to school’ are two principal clauses connected by the coordinating conjunction ‘but’.
N.B: In compound sentences, the second subject is usually not written.
- What is coordinating conjunction?
Co-ordinating conjunction is a word that connects multiple clauses.Some coordinating conjunctions are:- and, but, or, yet, and so, therefore, otherwise', etc.
I hope this article helps you to learn structural sentences in English.
