Compound Sentences: Building Bridges Between Ideas
What are compound sentences?
A compound sentence is made up of two (or more) independent clauses joined together. Think of it as two simple sentences that have teamed up to make one longer sentence.
Independent Clauses
An independent clause has a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a complete sentence. It’s like a full idea.
Examples:
- The sun shines.
- The birds sing.
How to Join Independent Clauses
We can join independent clauses to make compound sentences using:
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Coordinating Conjunctions (FANBOYS):
- For – explains a reason (I like to stay home, for I enjoy reading.)
- And – adds information (He went to the store, and he bought some milk.)
- Nor – joins two negative ideas (She doesn’t like coffee, nor does she like tea.)
- But – shows contrast (The weather is cold, but it is sunny.)
- Or – shows choice (Do you want pizza or pasta?)
- Yet – shows contrast, like “but” (He studied hard, yet he failed the test.)
- So – shows a result (She was tired, so she went to bed early.)
Example: The sun shines,** and** the birds sing.
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Semicolon (;):
This can replace a coordinating conjunction if the relationship between the two clauses is clear.
Example: The sun shines; the birds sing.
Let’s Practice!
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Combine Sentences: Use coordinating conjunctions to combine the following pairs of simple sentences into compound sentences:
- I went to the store. I bought some apples.
- She loves to read. He loves to write.
- The cat is sleeping. The dog is playing.
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Correct the Punctuation: Add a comma or semicolon where needed in these compound sentences:
- The movie was long but it was interesting.
- He didn’t study for the test so he didn’t do well.
- She loves to travel she has visited many countries.
Challenge!
Write a short story about your weekend. Use at least 3 compound sentences in your story!
