English as an Additional Language: Sentence and Paragraph Structure

There are four kinds of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.​

 Watch the video below to learn about each kind of sentence. 

Sentences are made up of clauses. There are two types of clauses in English: independent and dependent.

Independent clauses can stand on their own.​ A simple sentence can also be an independent clause.​

         E.g. The professor entered the room.​

Dependent clauses cannot stand on their own and needs an independent clause to complete the thought and sentence. ​

         E.g. when he arrived (Not a complete thought so no period added)​

A dependent clause lacks one of the elements that would make it a complete sentence. ​Therefore, you need to add an independent clause to complete the idea.​

          E.g. The professor entered the room when he arrived. ​

Test Your Knowledge! For each of the questions below, choose the best answer from the answers provided.

A paragraph is a group of sentences that discusses a single thought or idea. 

Paragraphs generally include three parts: topic sentence or thesis statement; supporting sentences and a concluding sentence. 

A topic sentence is the most important part of the paragraph. It captures the essence of the paragraph. It is a general statement and includes the topic and controlling idea.

Supporting sentences explain or prove the topic sentence. These may include: examples, facts, statistics, and quotations. 

Concluding sentences serve two purposes: it signals the end of the paragraph and reminds the reader of the important points. This can be done through summarizing or paraphrasing. 

Test Your Knowledge! For each question below, choose the correct answer.

1. Use proper punctuation.
   1. A sentence begins with a capital letter.
   2. Decide what your sentence does and use the appropriate punctuation mark. Most often, in academic writing, the punctuations used are periods, commas, question marks, colon, semicolons, dash, ellipsis, parentheses, brackets and quotations.
2. A sentence must have a subject and a verb. The subject and the verb MUST agree. E.g. The students were given an extension on their homework. Students is plural; thus, it takes the plural form of the verb were.
3. Too many simple sentences can make your writing appear "choppy" and can ​hamper flow. Use compound and complex sentences. ​
   1.  Compound sentences are joined with coordinating conjunctions or For And Nor But Or Yet So​
   2. Use a comma before the coordinating conjunction. E.g. Sara attended class today, but she left early for an appointment.
   3. Too many compound sentences that use "and" can weaken your writing.​Consider revising some of them into complex sentences.​ Clearer and more specific relationships can be established through complex sentences. 
4. Dependent clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions. Below are some of the most common subordinating conjunctions:​ After     although   as    because   before​    even though    if   since  though   unless​  until     when    whenever    whereas​    wherever   while​

5. Dependent clauses may be used at the beginning, middle, or end of a compound-complex sentence. No matter where it is placed, the punctuation follows the rules for both compound sentences and complex sentences.​ That means that you need to put a comma before the coordinating conjunction and, if applicable, another comma after the dependent clause when it occurs at the beginning of the sentence.​