How to Identify Simple, Compound and Complex Sentence

Sentences: Simple, Compound, and Complex

Simple sentence

A simple sentence has the most basic elements that make it a sentence: a subject, a verb, and a completed thought.

Examples of simple sentences :

1. Lamia waited for the train.
   "Lamia" = subject, "waited" = verb
2. The train was late.
   "The train" = subject, "was" = verb
3.  Lamia and Fahia took the bus.
   "Lamia and Fahia" = compound subject, "took" = verb
4.  I looked for Lamia and Fahia at the bus station.
   "I" = subject, "looked" = verb 
5. Lamia and Fahia arrived at the bus station early but waited until noon for the bus.
   "Lamia and Fahia" = compound subject, "arrived" and "waited" = compound verb  

Note: The use of compound subjects, compound verbs, prepositional phrases (such as "at the bus station"), and other elements help lengthen simple sentences, but simple sentences often are short.

A simple sentence can also be referred to as an independent clause. It is referred to as "independent" because, while it might be part of a compound or complex sentence, it can also stand by itself as a complete sentence.

Compound Sentences

A compound sentence refers to a sentence made up of two independent clauses (or complete sentences) connected to one another with a coordinating conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember if you think of the words "FAN BOYS":

• For
• And
• Nor
• But
• Or
• Yet
• So

Examples of compound sentences:

  Lamia waited for the train, but the train was late.
 

  I looked for Samia and Sarika at the bus station, but they arrived at the station before noon and left on the bus before I arrived.
 

  Fahia and Sarika arrived at the bus station before noon, and they left on the bus before I arrived.
 

  Lamia and Fahia left on the bus before I arrived, so I did not see them at the bus station.