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Syntax - Englishsentence structure
Introduction:Thispage containssome basic informationaboutsentencestructure (syntax) and
sentence types.Italsoincludesexamplesof commonsentenceproblemsinwrittenEnglish.ESL
studentswhounderstandthe informationonthispage andfollow the advice have abetterchance of
writingwell. [Note toteachers/advancedstudents]
Definition:Linguistshave problemsinagreeinghow todefine the wordsentence.Forthiswebpage,
sentence willbe takentomean:'a sequence of wordswhose firstwordstartswitha capital letter
and whose lastwordisfollowedbyanendpunctuationmark(period/full stoporquestionmarkor
exclamationmark)'.Onthe basisof thisdefinition,some of the sentenceswrittenbyESLstudents
(indeedbyall writers)willbe correct,andothersentenceswillbe problematic.Goodreaders
(Englishteachers,forexample!) canquicklysee the differencebetweenacorrect and a problematic
sentence.
Subject/predicate:All sentencesare aboutsomethingorsomeone.The somethingorsomeone that
the sentence isaboutiscalledthe subjectof the sentence.Inthe followingsentencesthe subjects
are showninred.Note howthe subjectisoften,butnot always,the firstthinginthe sentence.
Johnoftencomeslate to class.
My friendandI bothhave a dog namedSpot.
Many partsof the Asiancoastline were destroyedbyatsunami in2004.
The oldhotel atthe endof the streetisgoingtobe knockeddowntomake way fora new
supermarket.
Sittingina tree at the bottomof the gardenwasa huge blackbirdwithlongblue tail feathers.
The grade 7 Koreanboywhohas juststartedat FISspeaksexcellentEnglish.
On SaturdaysI nevergetup before 9o'clock.
Before givingatestthe teachershouldmake sure that the studentsare well-prepared.

2. Lyingon the sofa watchingoldfilmsismyfavourite hobby.
The predicate containsinformationaboutthe someone orsomethingthatisthe subject.The
example sentencesabove are shownagain,thistime withthe predicate markedingreen.
Johnoftencomeslate to class.
My friendandI bothhave a dog namedSpot.
Many partsof the Asiancoastline were destroyedbyatsunami in2004.
The oldhotel atthe endof the streetisgoingtobe knockeddowntomake way fora new
supermarket.
Sittingina tree at the bottomof the gardenwasa huge blackbirdwithlongblue tail feathers.
The grade 7 Koreanboywhohas juststartedat FISspeaksexcellentEnglish.
On SaturdaysI nevergetup before 9o'clock.
Before givingatestthe teachershouldmake sure that the studentsare well-prepared.
Lyingon the sofa watchingoldfilmsismyfavourite hobby.
Do a quizon the subjectand predicate.
Simple subject/predicate:Asyoucansee fromthe example sentencesabove boththe subjectand
the predicate canconsistof manywords.The simple subjectisthe mainwordinthe subject,andthe
simple predicateisthe mainwordinthe predicate.The simple subjectisalwaysanoun/pronounand
the simple predicate isalwaysaverb.
In the followingsentencesthe simplesubjectisshowninredand the simple predicateisshownin
green.
My ESL teacherspeaksa little Russian.
The younggirl withthe longblackhair fell fromherbike yesterdayinheavyrain.
At the back of the line inthe cafeteriayesterdaywasalarge browndog witha yellow collar
aroundits neck!

3. My friendandI are goingon holidaytogetherthisyear.
Your motheror your fathermustcome to the meeting.
Sittingina tree at the bottomof the gardenwasa huge blackbirdwithlongblue tail feathers.
From the lastthree examplessentencesabove youwill notice thatthe simplesubjectsandsimple
predicatescanbe more than one word.
Advice:Towrite strong,clearsentencesyoumustknow whoorwhat youare writingabout(subject)
and whatyou wantto say aboutthemor it (predicate).Yourwritingwill be more interestingif the
subjectisnot the firstthingineverysentence youwrite.
Do a quizto identifysimple subjectsandpredicates.
Sentence types:One waytocategorize sentencesisbythe clausestheycontain.(A clause isapart of
a sentence containingasubjectanda predicate.) Here are the 4 sentence types:
Simple:Containsasingle,independentclause.
I don'tlike dogs.
Ourschool basketball teamlosttheirlastgame of the season75-68.
The oldhotel opposite the busstationinthe centerof the townisprobablygoingto be knocked
downat the end of nextyear.
Compound:Containstwoindependentclausesthatare joinedbya coordinatingconjunction.(The
mostcommon coordinatingconjunctionsare:but,or,and,so. Remember:boas.)
I don'tlike dogs,andmy sisterdoesn'tlike cats.
Youcan write onpaper,or youcan use a computer.
A tree fell ontothe school roof ina storm, but none of the studentswasinjured.

4. Complex:Containsanindependentclause plusone ormore dependentclauses.(A dependent
clause startswitha subordinatingconjunction.Examples:that,because,while,although,where,if.)
I don'tlike dogsthat barkat me whenIgo past.
She didmyhomework,whileherfathercookeddinner.
Youcan write onpaper,althougha computerisbetterif youwantto correct mistakeseasily.
Note:A dependentclause standingalone withoutanindependentclause iscalledafragment
sentence - see below.
Compound-complex:Contains3or more clauses(of whichatleasttwoare independentandone is
dependent).
I don'tlike dogs,andmy sisterdoesn'tlike catsbecause theymake hersneeze.
Youcan write onpaper,butusinga computerisbetterasyou can easilycorrectyourmistakes.
A tree fell ontothe school roof ina storm, but none of the studentswasinjured,althoughmany
of themwere inclassroomsatthe top of the building.
Advice:Writingthatcontainsmostlyshort,simplesentencescanbe uninterestingorevenirritating
to read.Writingthat consistsof mostlylong,complex sentencesisusuallydifficulttoread.Good
writers,therefore,use avarietyof sentence types.Theyalsooccasionallystartcomplex (or
compound-complex) sentenceswiththe dependentclause andnotthe independentclause.Inthe
followingexamplesthe dependentclause isshowninred:
Althoughitwasraining,we decidedtogofishing.
If itdoesn'train soon,the riverwill dryout.
Because the road was icyand the driverwasgoingtoo fast,he was unable tobrake in time whena
fox ran intothe road in frontof him.
Note:Sentencescanalsobe categorizedaccordingtotheirfunction.[More]
Note:Independentclausesare alsocalledmainclauses.Dependentclausesare alsocalled
subordinate clauses.

5. Do a quizto identifyclause types. Do a quizto identifysentencetypes.
Problematic'sentences':Towrite acorrect sentence,youneedtohave agood understandingof
whata sentence is.Studentswhodon'thave thisunderstanding,ordon'ttake care, ofteninclude
problemsentencesintheirwriting.NativeEnglishspeakersare justas likelytowrite problem
sentencesasESL students.There are three maintypesof problemsentence:
Run-onsentences:These are twosentencesthatthe writerhasnotseparatedwithanend
punctuationmark,or has notjoinedwithaconjunction.(Clickthe followingrun-onstosee where
theyshouldbe separatedintotwosentences.)
I wenttoParisin the vacationit isthe most beautiful place Ihave evervisited.
It'snevertoo late tolearnto swimyouneverknow whenyoumayfall froma boat.
If you're goingto the shopscan you buyme some eggsandflourI want to make a cake.
I like ournewmathteacher,she alwaysexplainsthe workveryclearly.
He was late to school again,hisbusgot caught inheavytraffic.
Advice:Itis helpful toreadyourwrittenworkaloud.Whenyouspeak,youwill make natural
pausesto markthe endof your sentencesorclauses.If there isnocorrespondingendpunctuation
mark inyour writing,youcanbe almostcertainthatyou have writtenarun-onsentence.
Sentence fragments:Fragmentsentencesare unfinishedsentences,i.e.theydon'tcontaina
complete idea.A commonfragmentsentence instudentwritingisadependentclause standing
alone withoutanindependentclause.Inthe eachof the followingexamplesthe fragmentisthe
second'sentence',showninred:
I don'tthinkI'm goingto geta goodgrade.Because I didn'tstudy.
She gotangry and shouted atthe teacher.Whichwasn'ta verygood idea.
He watchedTV foran hour and thenwenttobed.Afterfallingasleeponthe sofa.
She gotup and ran out of the library.Slammingthe doorbehindher.
I have to write areport onAlbertEinstein.The famousscientistwholeftEurope tolive inthe
USA.
Afterridingmybike withoutproblemsforoverayear,the chainbroke.40 kilometersfrommy
house!

6. Advice:If your'sentence'isa dependentclause,oritdoesn'tcontain botha subjectanda
predicate,thenitisnota propersentence.Youcanoftendetectfragmentsif youreadyourwriting
backwardssentence bysentence,i.e.fromthe lastsentence tothe firstone.Youcan usuallycorrect
a fragmentby connectingittothe sentence before orafterit.
Good writers,whohave a full understandingof the sentence,occasionallychoose towrite a
sentence fragment.Soyoumaysee sentence fragmentsinthe fictionorevensome of the non-
fictionyouread.Asan ESL student,however,youshouldavoidfragments(exceptwhenwritingyour
owncreative stories).
Ramblingsentences:A ramblingsentence isasentence made upof manyclauses,oftenconnected
by a coordinatingconjunctionsuchasand,or, so.
Johnusuallygetsupbefore 7o'clock,but yesterdayhisalarmclockdidnot ring,so he wasstill
asleepwhenhisbosscalledhimat10.30 to ask where he wasand tell himthathe wouldlose hisjob
if he was late again.
Althoughthe blue whalehasbeenprotectedforover30 yearsandits numbersare increasing,
especiallyinthe NorthPacific,where whale huntinghasbeenbanned,itisstill atriskof extinctionas
itshabitatis beingpollutedbywaste fromoil tankersanditsmainfood,the plankton,is beingkilled
off by harmful raysfromthe sun,whichcan penetrate the earth'satmosphere because there isa
huge hole inthe ozone layeroverAntarctica.
Advice:A ramblingsentence isquite easytospot.Youhave almostcertainlywrittenone if your
sentence containsmore than3 or 4 conjunctions.If youreadthe sentence aloudandrunoutof
breathbefore reachingthe endof it,youhave writtena ramblingsentence.If yoursentence
stretchesovermanylinesof writing,youhave certainlywrittena ramblingsentence andmost
probablya run-onsentence too.
Unlike run-onsorfragments,ramblingsentencesare notwrong,but theyare tiresome forthe
readerand one of the signsof a poor writer.Youshouldavoidthem.
Do a quizto identify problematicsentences.
General advice:If youare notsure whetheryouhave writtenagood,correct sentence,askyour
teacher!Andremember:The more youreadinEnglish,the betterawriteryou will become.Thisis
because readinggoodwritingprovides youwithmodelsof Englishsentencestructure thatwill have
a positive influence onyourownwrittenwork.

7. Note:Goodwritingconsistsnotonlyof a stringof varied,correctly-structuredsentences.The
sentencesmustalsoleadfromone tothe nextso thatthe textiscohesive andthe writer'sideasare
coherent.Forinformationonthese twoimportantconcepts,gotothe Language wordsfor non-
language teacherspage andclickon Cohesion.
There are linkstomore sentence identificationandsentence buildingexercisesonthe WritingIndex
of thiswebsite.
FrankfurtInternational School:Artandartists.(Clicktosee at full size.)
Home Learners Advice onlearningEnglish Top
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© CopyrightPaul Shoebottom1996-2014
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Advanced Composition for Non-Native Speakers of English
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Why is it important to know whether a
sentence is simple, compound, or complex?
I believe a writer must know how to define simple, compound, and complex sentences before
using them consciously. To me, that's so obvious it hardly needs stating.
Once a writer knows how to write a simple sentence, it is possible to apply strict mechanical
"rules" for writing both compound and complex sentences. And with just these three sentence

8. types, it is possible to write good essays, with good sentence variety, perfectly acceptable for
academic work.
The explanations to the left are followed by "sentence identification" quizzes. Review the
results between quizzes so you completely understand the use of coordinators and
subordinators and punctuation in compound and complex sentences.
For information about online composition classes at this site, go to The ESLBEE.COM
Academy.
Sentences: Simple, Compound, and
Complex
Experienced writers use a variety of sentences to make their writing interesting and lively.
Too many simple sentences, for example, will sound choppy and immature while too many
long sentences will be difficult to read and hard to understand.
This page contains definitions of simple, compound, and complex sentences with many
simple examples. The purpose of these examples is to help the ESL/EFL learner to identify
sentence basics including identification of sentences in the short quizzes that follow. After
that, it will be possible to analyze more complex sentence varieties.
Simple Sentence
A simple sentence, also called an independent clause, contains a subject and a verb, and it
expresses a complete thought. In the following simple sentences, subjects are in yellow, and
verbs are in green.
1. Some students like to study in the mornings.

9. 2. Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon.
3. Alicia goes to the library and studies every day.
The three examples above are all simple sentences. Note that sentence 2 contains a compound
subject, and sentence 3 contains a compound verb. Simple sentences, therefore, contain a
subject and verb and express a complete thought, but they can also contain compound
subjects or verbs.
Compound Sentence
A compound sentence contains two independent clauses joined by a coordinator. The
coordinators are as follows: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (Helpful hint: The first letter of each
of the coordinators spells FANBOYS.) Except for very short sentences, coordinators are
always preceded by a comma. In the following compound sentences, subjects are in yellow,
verbs are in green, and the coordinators and the commas that precede them are in red.
1. I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English.
2. Alejandro played football, so Maria went shopping.
3. Alejandro played football, for Maria went shopping.
The above three sentences are compound sentences. Each sentence contains two independent
clauses, and they are joined by a coordinator with a comma preceding it. Note how the
conscious use of coordinators can change the meaningof the sentences. Sentences 2 and 3, for
example, are identical except for the coordinators. In sentence 2, which action occurred first?
Obviously, "Alejandro played football" first, and as a consequence, "Maria went shopping."
In sentence 3, "Maria went shopping" first. In sentence 3, "Alejandro played football"
because, possibly, he didn't have anything else to do, for or because "Maria went shopping."
How can the use of other coordinators change the relationship between the two clauses? What
implications would the use of "yet" or "but" have on the meaning of the sentence?
Complex Sentence
A True Story
Some students believe it is possible to identify simple, compound, and complex sentences by
looking at the complexity of the ideas in a sentence. Is the idea in the sentence simple, or is it
complex? Does one idea in a sentence make it simple? Do two ideas make it compound?
However, sentence identification does not work that way.
Please take the time to identify the subjects and verbs in a sentence. Then identify
coordinators and subordinators when they exist. With these two steps, sentence identification
not only becomes easy, but it also provides the foundation for understanding and writing all
other kinds of more complicated sentences.

10. A complex sentence has an independent clause joined by one or more dependent clauses. A
complex sentence always has a subordinator such as because, since, after, although, or when
(and many others) or a relative pronoun such as that, who, or which. In the following
complex sentences, subjects are in yellow, verbs are in green, and the subordinators and their
commas (when required) are in red.
1. When he handed in his homework, he forgot to give the teacher
the last page.
2. The teacher returned the homework after she noticed the error.
3. The students are studying because they have a test tomorrow.
4. After they finished studying, Juan and Maria went to the movies
5. Juan and Maria went to the movies after they finished studying.
When a complex sentence begins with a subordinator such as sentences 1 and 4, a comma is
required at the end of the dependent clause. When the independent clause begins the sentence
with subordinators in the middle as in sentences 2, 3, and 5, no comma is required. If a
comma is placed before the subordinators in sentences 2, 3, and 5, it is wrong.
Note that sentences 4 and 5 are the same except sentence 4 begins with the dependent clause
which is followed by a comma, and sentence 5 begins with the independent clause which
contains no comma. The comma after the dependent clause in sentence 4 is required, and
experienced listeners of English will often hear a slight pause there. In sentence 5, however,
there will be no pause when the independent clause begins the sentence.
Complex Sentences / Adjective Clauses
Finally, sentences containing adjective clauses (or dependent clauses) are also complex
because they contain an independent clause and a dependent clause. The subjects, verbs, and
subordinators are marked the same as in the previous sentences, and in these sentences, the
independent clauses are also underlined.
1. The woman who called my mom sells cosmetics.
2. The book that Jonathan read is on the shelf.
3. The house which Abraham Lincoln was born in is still standing.
4. The town where I grew up is in the United States.
Adjective Clauses are studied in this site separately, but for now it is important to know that
sentences containing adjective clauses are complex.
Conclusion and Quizzes
Are you sure you now know the differences between simple,
compound, and complex sentences? Click QUICK QUIZ

11. (will open in new window) to find out. This first quiz is just six sentences. The key is to look
for the subjects and verbs first. After taking the quiz, you will see your score, and you will
also have an opportunity to LISTEN TO THE AUDIO (four minutes) explaining why the
sentences are simple, compound, or complex.
For extra practice, the Helen Keller Quiz (will open in new window) contains ten quiz
questions, and The Americanization of Shadrach Cohen quiz (will open in new window)
contains 29 questions. With the skill to identify and write good simple, compound, and
complex sentences, you will have the flexibility to (1) convey your ideas precisely and (2)
entertain with sentence variety at the same time! Good luck with these exercises!
Finally, if you have not already done so, download the Transitions and Connectors
Worksheet to help identify simple, compound, and complex sentences.
Copyright © Eslbee.com, 2001-2014. All rights reserved.
Types of Clauses:
 Adjective Clause
 Adverbial Clause
 Comment Clause
 Comparative Clause
 Complement Clause
 Conditional Clause
 Coordinate Clause
 Free (Nominal) Relative Clause
 Independent Clause
 Main Clause
 Matrix Clause
 Noun Clause
 Relative Clause
 Reporting Clause
 That-Clause
 Verbless Clause
 What-Clause
 Wh-Clause
See also:
 Clausal Coordination and Phrasal Coordination
 Embedding
 Kernel Sentence
 Phrase
 Subordination
Etymology:

12. From the Latin, "the close of a sentence"
Examples and Observations:
 What Is a Clause?
"Consider the following sentence:
Tom married Amy when he was 19.
The string Tom married Amy could be a complete sentence on its own; the additional
string, when he was 19, could not be a complete sentence on its own. It is a clause. A
clause is a sentence-like construction contained within a sentence. The construction
when he was 19 is 'sentence-like' in the sense that we can analyse it in terms of the
major sentence elements (subject, verb, etc. . . .). It has its own subject (he), it has a
verb (was), and it has a subject complement (19). In addition to these major sentence
elements, it has the subordinating conjunction when, which tells us that the clause is a
subordinate clause."
(Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson, An Introduction to English Grammar, 3rd ed.
Pearson, 2009)
 Types of Clauses and Types of Sentences
- "We cannot walk alone."
(Martin Luther King, Jr., "I Have a Dream")
Note: "We cannot walk alone" is an independent clause--also known as a main clause.
This construction is a simple sentence.
- "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others."
(George Orwell, Animal Farm)
Note: Orwell's sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the conjunction
"and." This combination is called a compound sentence.
- "A woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction."
(Virginia Woolf, "A Room of Her Own")
Note: Woolf's sentence begins with an independent clause--"A woman must have
money and a room of her own"--and ends with an adverb clause. This combination is
called a complex sentence.
- "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could
miss it."
(Ferris Bueller's Day Off)
Note: "Life moves pretty fast" and "you could miss it" are independent clauses. "If
you don't stop and look around once in a while" is an adverb clause. Therefore,
Ferris's first sentence is simple; his second sentence is complex.

13. - "I was more independent than any farmer in Concord, for I was not anchored to a
house or farm, but could follow the bent of my genius, which is a very crooked one,
every moment."
(Henry David Thoreau)
Note: Thoreau's sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the conjunction
"for"; the second independent clause is interrupted by an adjective clause--"which is a
very crooked one." This combination is called a compound-complex sentence.
 Clauses and Phrases
"Clause contrasts with sentence. Except in the case of a whole sentence, which is
technically said to be also a clause, a clause is always smaller than the sentence that
contains it.
"Clause also contrasts with phrase. Clauses contain phrases. Clauses are bigger than
the simple phrases they contain. The crucial characteristic of a clause, which is
lacking from a phrase, is that a clause normally has its own verb and all or many of
the other basic ingredients of a whole sentence. So Billy's brand new bicycle and on
Sunday morning at ten o'clock are both phrases but not clauses, because neither
contains a verb..
"Clauses can themselves be contained in complex phrases; such clauses are always,
by definition, subordinate clauses."
(James R. Hurford, Grammar: A Student's Guide. Cambridge University Press, 1994)
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Edit Article

14. How to Diagram Sentences
Edited by Englishgrammarrevolution, Teresa, Krystle, Eric and 26 others
Diagramming sentences might seem complicated at first, but you'll quickly get the hang of it.
Once you understand the essentials, diagramming a sentence can be like completing a sudoku
or a crossword puzzle. That's not a bad way to learn grammar!
Steps
1.
1
Locate the verb of the sentence. Verbs are words that show action (walk, dance,
sing, run for example) or present a state of being (am, are, is, was). Look for the
action in the sentence and ask yourself what happened. You'll find the verb there.[1]
o Once you've found your verb draw a straight horizontal line, with a vertical
line through its center. On the right side of the vertical line place the verb.
o For example: "Harry searched for his dog." The word "searched" is the verb as
it is a word that shows action.
o A second example: "Harry was looking for his dog." The words "was looking"
represent the word, because they are a state of being, also known as a gerund.
Ad
2. 2

15. Find the subject of your sentence. This will be the thing or person that is performing
the action. The subject will go to the left of the vertical line (the verb is already on the
right). A good question to ask when locating the subject is "who did the verb."
o From the example above, "Harry was looking for his dog," Harry is the subject
as he is the one looking for the dog.
3.
3
Find your direct object if you have one. This will be the person or thing receiving
the action. Not all sentences have a direct object. If you have a direct object, draw a
vertical line after the verb, and place the word here.
o Using the same example "Harry was looking for his dog," the word "dog" is
the direct object.
o Now, if you had a sentence like "Harry was upset," there is no direct object.
o If you have a linking verb with a complement, draw a slanted line after the
verb, and write the complement here. A linking verb connects the subject of
the sentence to the complement.[2] The complement is the part of the sentence
that comes after the verb to complete the sentence.[3] For example: "Harry
looked sad when his dog went missing." In this sentence "looked sad" is a
linking verb and "when his dog went missing" is the complement.
4. 4
Find the articles (a, as, the) or possessions (my, your, his, hers). You'll draw a
slanted line down from whatever is being modified by the articles or possessions.
Your sentence might have both, or either, or neither of these kinds of words.

16. o For example: "Harry's dog left the house." In this sentence "Harry's" will be on
the slanted line beneath our subject "dog," because it is a possessive. The
sentence also has an article "the" which will be on the slanted line beneath
"house."
5.
5
Locate the adjectives. These are words that describe a noun or a pronoun. Place
adjectives on a slanted line beneath the words they modify.
o Example: "Harry looked for his red dog." The word "red" is the adjective,
because it describes the dog. Therefore, it would be placed on a vertical line
beneath "dog" which is the object in this sentence.

17. 6.
6
Find the adverb. Adverbs modify verbs and adjectives, as well as other adverbs.
They often end in -ly. Good questions to ask yourself when trying to find an adverb
are: How? When? Where? How much? Why? You'll put the adverb on a vertical line
beneath the word it modifies.
o Example: Harry ran quickly after his dog." The word "quickly" is modifying
"ran" and therefore would be placed on a vertical line beneath "ran."

18. 7.
7
Look for any prepositional phrases. These are usually groupings of words
beginning with a preposition and ending with a noun or pronoun. Prepositional
phrases do not contain verbs, usually containing adjectives, nouns, and pronouns. You
will connect the prepositional phrase on a horizontal line beneath the word they
modify.
o Example: "The computer on the chair is yours." The prepositional phrase is
"on the chair." Once you remove that phrase you will see that "computer" is
the subject and "is" is the verb.
o Another example: "Harry didn't want to go outside without his sweater." The
prepositional phrase is "without his sweater," which contains the preposition
"without" and the noun "sweater."

19. 8.
8
Check if your sentence is compound. Compound sentences had words like "and" or
"but." If any part of your sentence is compound, you will connect each compound part
with a dotted line and the conjunction that connects them. For instance, if you have a
compound subject, draw two lines for the subject and write each subject on a line.
Connect them with a dotted line.
o For example: "Harry and his friend searched for Harry's dog." The "and"
makes this sentence compound and the dotted line will go between "Harry"
and "friend." The word "his" will go on a slanted line beneath "friend"

20. 9.
9
For more complex sentences, connect the independent clause with the
subordinate clause with a dotted line. Diagram both of them as you would
normally.
o Example: "Harry and his friend went to the supermarket where he found his
dog." The first clause runs from "Harry" to "supermarket" while the second
clause runs from "he" to "dog." Once you've split the two sentences you can
diagram them normally. The word "where" will link to the two sentences
together.
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Tips

21.  If you are new to sentence diagramming, choose easy sentences to start with. (The
dogs barked. The black cat meowed.)
 Note that these are only the basics of diagramming a sentence. Remember that
grammar is not an exact science!
Ad
Warnings
 Don't give up if you feel frustrated at first. It can take time for sentence diagramming
to be easy.
Related wikiHows
How to
Cheat in Workbooks
How to
Avoid Colloquial (Informal) Writing
How to
Use "Who" and "Whom" Correctly

22. How to
Understand the Difference Between Passive and Active Sentences
How to
Improve Your Grammar
Sources and Citations
1. ↑ http://drb.lifestreamcenter.net/Lessons/TS/diagram.htm
2. ↑ http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/linking-verb.html
3. ↑ http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/complement.html
 http://www.english-grammar-revolution.com - Original source, shared with
permission.
Article Info
Featured Article
Categories: Featured Articles | English | Homeschooling
Recent edits by: Nicole Willson, Ron D, Brendan
In other languages:
Español: Cómo diagramar enunciados, Français: Comment schématiser une
phrase, Português: Como Diagramar Orações, Русский: рисовать диаграммы
предложений, Deutsch: Sätze grafisch darstellen
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