English Grammar Quiz: Clauses

Compound Sentences

• A compound sentence connects two independent clauses using a coordinating conjunction.
• Examples of coordinating conjunctions include: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.
• A compound sentence typically follows the structure: Subject + Verb + Prepositional phrase + Coordinating conjunction + Subject + Verb.

Uses of Coordinating Conjunctions

• Coordinating conjunctions connect two independent clauses.
• Examples of compound sentences using coordinating conjunctions:
  • Tom swims, and Mary plays tennis.
  • The cat was unsuccessful in his attempt to catch the mouse, and the mouse was equally as unlucky in his attempt to get the cheese.

Clause Types

• Independent clauses: have a subject and a predicate.
• Dependent clauses: do not have a complete meaning and rely on an independent clause.
• Adverbial clauses: provide additional information about time, manner, place, etc.

Adverbial Clauses

• There are 8 types of adverbial clauses:
  • Time clauses (e.g., when, before, after, since, while, as, until)
  • Conditional clauses (e.g., if, unless)
  • Purpose clauses (e.g., in order to, so that)
  • Reason clauses (e.g., because, since, as)
  • Result clauses (e.g., so that, so)
  • Concessive clauses (e.g., although, even though, much as, whereas, despite, except that, not that, while, even if, in spite of, though, whilst)
• Examples of adverbial clauses:
  • Her father died when she was young. (Time clause)
  • If they lose weight during an illness, they soon regain it afterwards. (Conditional clause)
  • They were shoving each other out of the way, in order to get to the front. (Purpose clause)

Sentence Classification

• Exercises to classify sentences as:
  • Simple
  • Compound
  • Complex
  • Compound-complex
• Examples:
  • The bell rang. (Simple)
  • Bridget ran the first part of the race, and Tara biked the second part. (Compound)
  • He stands at the bottom of the cliff while the climber moves up the rock. (Complex)
  • Naoki passed the test because he studied hard and understood the material. (Compound-complex)