After the wreck, he bought a new car. (one dependent and one independent)
Sentences
Note that English sentences are characterized by four criteria:
1. Capitalization of the first letter of the sentence
2. Terminal punctuation at the end: period, exclamation point, or question mark
3. At least one independent (main) clause
4. Expression of a complete thought
Types of Sentences
Simple: one independent (main) clause
The kitten was white.
Compound: two or more independent (main) clauses
The puppy was cute, but we did not buy it.
The puppy was cute; we did not buy it.
Complex: one independent (main) clause and one or more dependent
(subordinate) clauses
We did not buy the puppy because we had no money.
Because we had no money, we did not buy the puppy that we saw in the
pet shop.
The puppy that we wanted was a Border terrier.
Compound-complex: two or more independent (main) clauses and one or more
dependent (subordinate) clauses
The puppy was cute, but we did not buy it because we had no money;
however, we could afford a less expensive kitten.
Although everybody in the family wanted a pet, we could not afford to
buy the cute puppy that we saw at the pet shop; we agreed, however, to
buy a kitten.
Copyright for this document is held by the Writing Center and Grammar Hotline of Tidewater Community College,
Virginia Beach Campus. It has been written, revised, and/or edited by staff paid to perform that work for the college;
therefore, the rights are retained by the college. 9/22/04