The Compound Sentence
Learn About ItA compound sentence is made up of at least two independent clauses. They are typically connected with a comma and a coordinating conjunction, but they can also be joined with a semicolon. Example: The ducks quacked, and the chicks peeped.The ducks quacked; the chicks peeped. 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: The ducks quacked, the chicks peeped, and the farmer smiled. 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. Aw... isn't that sweet?
Coordinating ConjunctionsQuick Review: • They join things that are the same. (Like two or more independent clauses, two or more phrases, or two or more words.) • There are seven of them. (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) Learn more about coordinating conjunctions.
Diagramming the Compound SentenceDiagramming 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: The ducks quacked, and the chicks peeped.
The ducks quacked, the chicks peeped, and the farmer smiled.
Understand the compound sentence? Learn about other sentence structures. Back to Sentence Diagramming IndexBack to English Grammar Home Page
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