McDonough Editorial

Writing is messy. Between decades of different rules, memorizing punctuation placement, and trying to recall school practice sheets, sometimes the writing basics escape us. On top of trying to be mechanically correct, every communication is a puzzle of words to put together in just the right way. This sentence structure breakdown aims to refresh your memory, and use written examples that look more like the type of sentences you might see in the workplace.

Foundational sentence structure terms

Before we get into the more detailed discussion on sentence structure, let’s start out with a list of  foundational terms to refresh your memory. 

The word clause is defined by MLA Style Center  as, “a group of words that contain a subject and a verb.”

That clause breaks down into two different types. An independent clause is defined by MLA as, “a clause that makes a complete sentence.” The dependent clause, MLA states is, “a clause that does not stand as a complete sentence.” 

Thesaurus.com writes that a conjunction is, “a word or phrase that connects words or phrases, clauses and sentences together,”

For the purposes of this discussion, we are only going to focus on the two more common types of conjunctions. Thesaurus defines a coordinating conjunction as, “a conjunction that connects two or more equal grammatical elements.” The examples you see of these conjunctions include: for, and,nor,but,or, yet, so. Then there is the subordinating conjunction which Thesaurus explains is, “a conjunction used to link a dependent clause to an independent clause.” Recognizable examples of subordinating conjunctions include but aren’t limited to: although, before,because, until, when, unless.

Compound sentences

Compound sentences happen when two independent clauses are joined to create one long complete sentence. MLA explains these clauses are linked by either a coordinating conjunction, a transitional phrase, or a semicolon. Take a look at the example below. 

Ex: There is a meeting scheduled for Thursday, so please give your availability through the Google Poll. 

If you were to take the comma and conjunction out of this sentence, each half would be a complete sentence on its own. Now, the comma is underlined here for a reason. When you choose to use coordinate conjunctions or transitional phrases for compound sentences, the comma has to go first in most cases. Here is the same example using a transitional phrase.

Ex: There is a meeting on Thursday, also please give your availability through the Google poll.

The few exceptions to this comma rule happen when two clauses with clear subjects are short, but it’s better to lean on the side of clarity. 

Complex sentences

MLA describes a complex sentence as one or more dependent clauses attached to an independent clause. This happens by using  either a subordinating conjunction, or relative pronouns (who, whose, that, and others). The first provided example will use subordinating conjunctions. 

Ex: After you finish this next draft, call my office. 

Let’s walk through the pieces here. Call my office, is a complete sentence by itself, there is the independent clause. Using the subordinate conjunction after, not only allows for the two clauses to connect as a full sentence, but allows the first part of that sentence to be an actual dependent clause rather than an incomplete phrase. 

Take a look at a complex sentence using relative pronouns 

Ex: The draft, that we previously approved, is on its way to your office.

Here, the dependent clause is enclosed in commas because if we were to take it out entirely, that would still leave the independent clause. 

Compound-complex sentences

Compound-complex sentences combine everything we have talked about so far. MLA explains that a compound complex sentence contains one or more dependent clauses attached to one or more independent clauses. The first example has two independent clauses and only one dependent attached. 

Ex. There was a typo in the last announcement, but remember to submit discussion points, before logging onto the Zoom call.

Breaking it down, the easiest way for anyone to think about compound-complex sentences is to start with the compound piece. But marks the compound sentence while the use of before gives a signal to the dependent clause. The next example gives a visual for compound-complex sentences with more than one dependent clause. 

 Ex. After a few technical difficulties, I read your proposal, and I have a few suggested edits, mainly focused on the introduction. 

With this example, it is a true compound sentence sandwich. Both dependent clauses are on the front and back of the sentence, while the compound sits in the middle. Look closely at the use of conjunctions and transition words to make the whole idea flow. When working with your own compound-complex sentences, find where you have two complete sentences and from there you can understand the relationship with other words involved.

Conclusion

Hopefully this walk-through has made you feel more confident in your writing. When in doubt, take a breath and take your sentences apart into pieces. There’s no shame in refreshing your grammar to communicate more clearly. 

If you feel ready to show what you’ve learned, take the Family Grammar Face-Off interactive quiz.