The Compound Sentence

Learn About It

A compound sentence is made up of two independent clauses joined together.

Typically, they are joined by a comma and a coordinating conjunction, but they can also be joined with a semicolon.

Example:

Notice how the sentences above express two main ideas?

The word compound means that something is made up of two or more elements. So, it makes sense that these sentences expresses two or more main ideas.

Here is a sentence expressing three main ideas:

Notice that there are three independent clauses: The ducks quacked. The chicks peeped. The farmer smiled. They could all stand alone if they wanted to, but they have decided to come together as one sentence.

Awwwww... isn't that sweet?

Coordinating Conjunctions

Quick Review:

• They join equals. (Like two independent clauses.)

• There are seven of them. (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

Learn more about coordinating conjunctions.

Diagramming these guys is fun because you get to do two (or more!) for one.

Sentence diagrams can help you to see that these sentences are made up of two or more independent clauses. They make the definition visual. Check it out.

Here are some example sentences:

Understand the compound sentence? Learn about other sentence structures.

Back to English Grammar Home Page

Have Fun & Learn Grammar Now!

Learn Grammar the Easy Way: Diagramming Sentences