The next type of sentence to discuss is the compound sentence. To help you remember what this is, think of a compound word like "sandpaper." A compound word is made from two individual (or independent) words that are joined together. Similarly, a compound sentence has two parts to it and each is an independent clause. Independent clauses are complete thoughts that could stand on their own (if separated).
There are two key things to remember with compound sentences. First, you will always have a comma used at the end of the first independent clause. Then, immediately after the comma, you will have a connector or conjunction (such as for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) used. You can remember those connectors by using the acronym FANBOYS, which comes from the first letter of each of those connecting words. (Isn't that neat?!)
Let's look at some examples of compound sentences. These use the most common connectors.
1.) Today is Monday, and tomorrow I have off of work.
2.) Robert was listening to the radio, but the power went out.
3.) The calendar is on the wall, so you can mark your birthday on it.
Notice that each sentence has two complete thoughts. For the first example, you could have separated the thoughts. If you did that, you could have written this. "Today is Monday. Tomorrow I have off of work." If you write the thoughts separately, you have two simple sentences! If you keep the thoughts together and use the connector "and," then you need to have a comma before the connector. Plus, if you read that sentence out loud, you pause after the first thought, so that's another indicator that a comma is needed.
To practice joining the independent clauses, play this Quia game. Then, come back here & write 1 compound sentence to tell us how you did and if you enjoyed it!
11 comments:
I found the quia game to be interesting and informative and will definitely revisit the site.
I felt for something sweet, so I decided to buy Donuts.
Sheila W.
The game was educational and I scored 10 out of 10.
The fire was going to go out, so I quickly threw another log on.
Michele T.
The Quia game was fun, and I learned something.
The movie was a comedy, and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.
I found the quia game very interesting, it helps me to understand how to join a clause into a compound sentence.
The wedding was beautiful, but I did not stay to the end.
Anonymous said...
I found the quia game very interesting, it helps me to understand how to join a clause into a compound sentence.
The wedding was beautiful, but I did not stay to the end.
Allison.
November 13, 2008 8:04 PM
I found the quia game very interesting, it helps me to understand how to join a clause into a compound sentence.
The wedding was beautiful, but I did not stay to the end.
Allison.
November 13, 2008 8:04 PM
Mirlene I played the quia game on compound sentences I did well in it.
Mirlene
I played the game on compound sentence, and did well.
Sara and Cathy follow the woman into the house.
The game was quite interesting.
Dorothea M
I like to read, and I like to write.
The days are cooler now, so I decided to go for walks in the morning.
Maria Rodriguez-Trelles
I found this Quia game very educational and interesting. I scored 8 out of 10.
It was raining, so I took my umbrella.
Leonie Florestal
Post a Comment