Types of Sentences: According to Structure (2 of 2)

 

Types of Sentences According to Structure with Examples 

( Part 2)

The Sentence is the largest grammatical unit in the English rank scale and it refers to a group of words that begins with a capital letter and ends with any of these three punctuation marks: the period or full stop, the exclamation mark and the question mark. This lecture, Types of Sentences According to Structure with Examples, takes a close look at the English sentence, its definition and various types with illustrative examples for easy comprehension.

The English sentences are generally classified along two lines: classification based on the structural pattern or syntactic classes and classification based on the functions these sentences perform. We shall examine these classifications and discuss the type of sentences under each of these two basic classifications. However, we shall look in-depth at structural classification.

Classification of sentences

Sentences can be classified according to their structure or function.

According to their structure. The sentence can be of the following type. There are six (6) types sentences based on structural classification. These are:

·         Simple Sentence

·         Complex Sentence

·         Compound Sentence

·         Compound-Complex Sentence

·         Multiple Sentence

 

Type of sentence Explanation

·         Simple sentence

 A sentence that consists of one clause.  A simple sentence is one which has one main or independent clause. We also know this clause by the name alpha clause. It is main, independent or alpha because it can stand on its own, unlike the subordinate clause.  A simple sentence is a sentence with one clause (which must be the main clause). However, a simple sentence can have any number of phrases in addition to the main clause.

Example: Simple sentences (with the single main clause underlined)

·         A team of scientists is boring a hole.

·         A team of scientists is boring a hole to an underwater lake.

·         In freezing conditions on the Antarctic plateau, a team of scientists is boring a hole to an underwater lake.

More examples:

·         This is my food.

·         I love you so much.

·         He has gone home

·         Faseeh bought a book this morning.

·         The hardworking farmer reaped a bumper harvest last year.

 

Multiple sentences:

 A sentence that consists of more than one clause. A multiple sentences could be a compound sentence, a complex sentence or a compound-complex sentence. A multiple sentences is a sentence which has three (3) or more main, independent or alpha clauses with no subordinate or dependent clause. 

Example:

·         He came, he saw and he conquered

·         John cleared the garage, washed the dirty cars and later went to the gym to play football.

·         She attended the interview, answered all the questions brilliantly yet she did not get the job.

·         He also drove out the nations before them, allotted them an inheritance by survey and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

·         He arrived in the country on Friday, went to see his mother on Saturday and returned to Austria on Sunday.

 

Compound sentence

 A sentence that consists of two main clauses joined together by a conjunction such as and, but, or. A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses joined together by a coordinating conjunction (words like and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet). A coordinating conjunction sits between the two clauses. All compound sentences could be broken up into separate simple sentences.

Example: Compound sentence

I like playing the guitar and my wife likes reading.

This sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the conjunction and.

The sentence could be broken into two separate sentences:

·         I like playing the guitar.

·         My wife likes reading.

I like playing the guitar and my wife likes reading but my son prefers outdoor activities.

The sentence could be broken into three separate sentences:

·         I like playing the guitar.

·         My wife likes reading.

·         My son prefers outdoor activities.

 

 

More examples:

·         The boy won the game but he was not given the prize.

·         The food was badly cooked yet the starving boys ate it with relish.

·         The farmer worked very hard and reaped a bumper harvest.

·         My uncle asked if he should pay for my tuition or clear my accommodation bill.

·         He returned from work and immediately went to bed.

 

Note: Each clause in a compound sentence can stand on its own as a complete sentence because each clause is actually a simple sentence joined by a conjunction. We refer to the items used to link the clauses in a compound sentence as coordinating conjunctions. These are: but, and, or. Some add ‘yet’ to the list but it is a ‘marginal conjunction’. We can also refer to the linking items as ‘linkers’ because they link items of equal grammatical weight or status; word and word, group and group, clause and clause then sentence and sentence.

Complex sentence

A complex sentence is a sentence that contains one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. A sentence that consists of the main clause supported by a subordinate clause joined together by a conjunction such as because, if, that, when etc. We usually refer to these subordinators as ‘binders’ because they bind the subordinate clause to the main clause. Let us see some examples:

Example: Complex sentence

 

·         I like playing the guitar but my wife does not like me playing because the noise interferes with her reading.

This sentence contains two independent clauses joined by the coordinating conjunction but and a subordinate clause which starts with the subordinating conjunction because.

The sentence could be broken into two separate sentences:

·         I like playing the guitar.

·         My wife does not like me playing because the noise interferes with her

·         reading.

 

The clause “because the noise interferes with her reading” is a

subordinating clause because it adds meaning to an idea expressed in

a main clause and does not stand alone as a sentence.

More examples:

·         The boy failed the test because he did not work hard

·         He locked the gate before beating the stubborn goats

·         Even though the farmer worked hard the harvest was rather poor.

·         Despite reading all night, the girl failed the test.

·         If he had not run all the way home, he would have been caught in the rain.

 

Compound-complex sentence

A sentence that contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

·         When he slew them then, they sought him and they returned and sought earnestly for God.

·         I came, I saw, and I conquered because I was determined since no assistance was forthcoming.

·         If the lawyers had not moved fast, the innocent man would have been ridiculed, made to refund the money he did not steal and thrown into prison.

·         As a philosopher who likes simplicity, he wrote in the condolence register: ‘life is simple and life is fragile.

 

Example: Compound-complex sentences

 

This sentence contains two independent clauses, each supported by a subordinating clause beginning with when.  The linker joins the two alpha clauses while the binder(s) joins one of the alpha clauses with a subordinate clause. 

·         I like playing the guitar when I finish work.

·         My wife prefers to read quietly when she arrives home.

The two pairs of clauses are joined by a coordinating clause. I like playing the guitar when I finish work but my wife prefers to read quietly when she arrives home.

Examples:

·         Khuram gave the class a test and marked the test papers before writing the correction on the board

·         The tenants refused to pay the house rent and gave the landlord a beating before the police arrived

·         The resident doctors went on strike and refused to treat patients because the government refused to pay their allowances.

·         Students prefer to buy phones and acquire other electronic gadgets with their money rather than buy textbooks.

·         He washed his clothes and ironed them before he slept.

 

Conditional sentence

A multiple sentences that contains a dependent (subordinate) clause setting out a condition and the main clause setting out the consequence of meeting or failing to meet that condition.

The condition clause is a dependent clause and is usually headed by the conjunction if (though other conditional propositions might be used including unless, providing that, provided that and as long as). The consequence is contained in the main clause of the sentence and explains what will or will not happen as a result of the condition being met. The condition and consequence clauses can come in any order in a sentence.

Example: Conditional sentences

Both of the following are equally valid.

·         I will give him the message if I see him.

·         If I see him, I will give him the message.

Condition clause = if I see him

Consequence clause = I will give him the message

Conditional sentences can have a number of meanings depending on verb forms used to express the condition and the consequence and are usually classified as the following types.

·         zero conditional;

·         first conditional;

·         second conditional; and

·         third conditional

 

v  Zero conditional

A zero conditional sentence expresses a direct consequence of an action. It implies that something will definitely happen.

Both clauses can be constructed with a number of tenses but usually use the simple present tense.

Example: Conditional sentences

·         If you study hard you pass exams.

·         Ice melts if you put it in the sun.

·         The alarm will go off if there is a fire in the building.

 

v  First conditional

A first conditional sentence refers to an event that is likely to happen. The condition clause is constructed using one of the present tenses, often the simple present tense but others might be used. The consequence clause usually uses will, can, may or might with the base form of the verb.

Example: Conditional sentences

·         If you are still sleeping at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow, I will wake you up.

·         If you arrive early you may get a seat at the concert.

·         If you do not take a coat you might be cold.

·         If you are here at 8.00 a.m. the doctor can see you.

 

v  Second conditional

A second conditional sentence expresses hypothetical (and usually unlikely or impossible situations) with a present or future time frame. In other words, it might refer to an imaginary situation. The condition clause is constructed using a past tense (simple past or past subjunctive – see later).

The consequence clause usually uses would, could or might with the base form of the verb.

Example: Conditional sentences

·         If I was 20 years younger, I would run a marathon.

·         If I was very rich, I would buy a house in the Caribbean.

·         If you did not smoke you would be a rich man.

 

v  Third conditional

A third conditional sentence expresses hypothetical events with a past time frame (i.e. events that did not occur). The speaker is talking about something that might have happened but did not. The condition clause is constructed using the past perfect tense. The consequence clause usually uses would, could or might with have and the past participle of the verb.

Example: Conditional sentences

·         If you had studied harder, you would have passed the exam.

·         If I had not bought a new car last year we could have gone on holiday.

·         If we did not have children, we would be driving big cars.

 

v  Composition and comprehension

 On the successful completion of this Lecture, students will be able to write meaningful essays and précis and comprehend written English.

 

 

SELF-TEST

1 Define the following types of sentences and illustrate each definition with one example:

(a) Simple Sentence (b) Compound Sentence (c) Complex Sentence (c) the kinds of sentence.

2 Briefly describe the following:

(a)    Phrase (b) Sentence (c) Declarative Sentence (d) Imperative Sentence (e) Exclamatory Sentence

3. Define the following terms with meaningful examples:

(a) Conditional sentence (b) Zero conditional sentence (c) First conditional sentence (d) Second conditional sentence (e) Third conditional sentences.