{"id":34020,"date":"2017-11-01T14:26:36","date_gmt":"2017-11-01T14:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/?page_id=34020"},"modified":"2026-03-28T10:53:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T15:53:18","slug":"intro-to-sentence-types","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/intro-to-sentence-types\/","title":{"rendered":"Intro to Sentence Types"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t<div id=\"mmDeferVideoEncompass_KMrwjU5hIt0\" style=\"position: relative;\">\n\t\t\t<picture>\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.webp\" type=\"image\/webp\">\n\t\t\t\t<source srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" type=\"image\/jpeg\"> \n\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" id=\"videoThumbnailImage_KMrwjU5hIt0\" data-source-videoID=\"KMrwjU5hIt0\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/circle-play-duotone.png\" alt=\"Intro to Sentence Types Video\" height=\"464\" width=\"825\" class=\"size-full\" data-matomo-title = \"Intro to Sentence Types\">\n\t\t\t<\/picture>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<style>img#videoThumbnailImage_KMrwjU5hIt0:hover {cursor:pointer;} img#videoThumbnailImage_KMrwjU5hIt0 {background-size:contain;background-image:url(\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/35-intro-to-sentence-types-1.webp\");}<\/style>\n\t\t\t<script defer>\n\t\t\t  jQuery(\"img#videoThumbnailImage_KMrwjU5hIt0\").click(function() {\n\t\t\t\tlet videoId = jQuery(this).attr(\"data-source-videoID\");\n\t\t\t\tlet helpTag = '<div id=\"mmDeferVideoYTMessage_KMrwjU5hIt0\" style=\"display: none;position: absolute;top: -24px;width: 100%;text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;font-size: small;border-top: 1px solid #fc0;\">Having trouble? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v='+videoId+'\" target=\"_blank\">Click here to watch on YouTube.<\/a><\/span><\/div>';\n\t\t\t\tlet tag = document.createElement(\"iframe\");\n\t\t\t\ttag.id = \"yt\" + videoId;\n\t\t\t\ttag.src = \"https:\/\/www.youtube-nocookie.com\/embed\/\" + videoId + \"?autoplay=1&controls=1&wmode=opaque&rel=0&egm=0&iv_load_policy=3&hd=0&enablejsapi=1\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.frameborder = 0;\n\t\t\t\ttag.allow = \"autoplay; fullscreen\";\n\t\t\t\ttag.width = this.width;\n\t\t\t\ttag.height = this.height;\n\t\t\t\ttag.setAttribute(\"data-matomo-title\",\"Intro to Sentence Types\");\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_KMrwjU5hIt0\").html(tag);\n\t\t\t\tjQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoEncompass_KMrwjU5hIt0\").prepend(helpTag);\n\t\t\t\tsetTimeout(function(){jQuery(\"div#mmDeferVideoYTMessage_KMrwjU5hIt0\").css(\"display\", \"block\");}, 2000);\n\t\t\t  });\n\t\t\t  \n\t\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<p><script>\nfunction l2z_Function() {\n  var x = document.getElementById(\"l2z\");\n  if (x.style.display === \"none\") {\n    x.style.display = \"block\";\n  } else {\n    x.style.display = \"none\";\n  }\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n<div class=\"moc-toc hide-on-desktop hide-on-tablet\">\n<div><button onclick=\"l2z_Function()\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/toc2.svg\" width=\"16\" height=\"16\" alt=\"show or hide table of contents\"><\/button><\/p>\n<p>On this page<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<nav id=\"l2z\" style=\"display:none;\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Simple_Sentence\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Simple Sentence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Compound_Sentence\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Compound Sentence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#Complex_Sentence\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Complex Sentence<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"toc-h2\"><a href=\"#CompoundComplex_Sentence\" class=\"smooth-scroll\">Compound-Complex Sentence<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"accordion\"><input id=\"transcript\" type=\"checkbox\" class=\"spoiler_button\" \/><label for=\"transcript\">Transcript<\/label>\n<div class=\"spoiler\" id=\"transcript-spoiler\">\n<p>Hey, guys! Welcome to this Mometrix introduction video to sentence types.<\/p>\n<p>There are so many different types of sentences out there! Luckily, you can group them into one of just four sentence types:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Simple Sentence<\/li>\n<li>Compound Sentence<\/li>\n<li>Complex Sentence<\/li>\n<li>Compound-Complex Sentence<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span id=\"Simple_Sentence\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Simple Sentence<\/h2>\n<p>\nA simple sentence is a sentence that has only one independent clause. This does not mean that the sentence is short, or that there is not another phrase tacked onto it. As long as there is only one independent clause, and not two or more.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">I do not like sentences.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nPretty straightforward. It\u2019s clearly one simple independent clause. But look at this:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Being a Math major with minimum experience in creative writing, I do not like sentences.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nWe still have a simple sentence. Sure it\u2019s longer and more challenging, but it\u2019s still an independent clause. Now, check this one out:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Being a Math major with minimum experience in creative writing, I do not like sentences even though I have to use them to write proofs and theorems.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nIt is still a simple sentence. I\u2019ve added so much onto this sucker, but it\u2019s still just a simple sentence. See how the first part of the sentence, before the <a class=\"ylist\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/when-to-use-a-comma\/\">comma<\/a>, does not express a complete thought, but the part after the comma is an independent clause. It expresses a complete thought, and makes sense by itself. <\/p>\n<p>Enough with simple sentences. Let\u2019s look at a compound sentence.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Compound_Sentence\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Compound Sentence<\/h2>\n<p>\nA compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses.<\/p>\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">I like quiet, but my students like to scream.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nSee? Both \u201cI like quiet,\u201d and \u201cmy students like to scream\u201d are independent clauses. They each form a complete thought. You can even use longer words to link two independent clauses together. For instance, \u201cI like quiet so much, inevitably, my students like to scream.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"Complex_Sentence\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Complex Sentence<\/h2>\n<p>\nA complex sentence is a sentence that has one independent clause, and one or more dependent clauses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\">Because I like chocolate, my friends got me a basket of chocolate.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n&#8220;Because I like chocolate\u201d is a dependent clause, and \u201cmy friends got me a basket of chocolate\u201d is an independent clause.<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"CompoundComplex_Sentence\" class=\"m-toc-anchor\"><\/span>Compound-Complex Sentence<\/h2>\n<p>\nA compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Because I am tall, some people expect me to play basketball, and other people expect me to play volleyball.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nOne thing that may be confusing is that the dependent clauses can be integrated into the independent clauses, and not separated by commas.<\/p>\n<p>For instance:<\/p>\n<div class=\"transcriptcallout\" style=\"text-align: left;\">Some people tell me that my writing is complex, and others tell me that my writing could be more complex.<\/div>\n<p>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\nThe independent clauses are bolded, and the dependent clauses are underlined.<\/p>\n<p>So, that was a brief overview of the variation of sentence types. I hope this helped you to better identify the four types of sentences! See you next time!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"home-buttons\">\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/writing\/\">Return to Writing Videos<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Return to Writing Videos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":90949,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-34020","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"page_category-reading-comprehension-videos","7":"page_category-video-pages-for-study-course-sidebar-ad","8":"page_category-writing-videos","9":"page_type-video","10":"subject_matter-english"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34020"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":280640,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/34020\/revisions\/280640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/90949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mometrix.com\/academy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}