What is a clause?
• A clause is a group of words with a subject and verb
that expresses an idea.
o An independent clause can stand alone as a
sentence. There is enough information in the clause to
express a complete idea.
o A dependent clause doesn’t have enough
information on its own to express a complete idea. It
needs to be attached to an independent clause to
make a complete sentence.
Types of sentences
Simple sentence (IC)Compound sentence (IC + IC)Complex sentence
(IC + at least one DC)Compound-complex sentence
Compound sentences
Derek mowed the lawn and Frank trimmed the shrubs.
I’m going to the grocery for Mom tomorrow and then I’m going to do the laundry.
CoordinationDerek mowed the lawn and Frank trimmed the shrubs.
Derek mowed the lawn; Frank trimmed the shrubs.
Derek mowed the lawn; however, he didn’t trim the shrubs.
Too long! (Stringy sentence)
• Derek mowed the lawn and Frank trimmed the
shrubs last week because we wanted the yard to
look nice before the arrival of Derek’s mother,
who lives in South Africa and was going to be
here for her first visit in several years because
she’s just not able to get here that often because
of the high cost of traveling such a long distance
and she had been here only once after Derek and
I got married in 2001.
Adverb clauseI will pick up supper before I go home today.
We changed rooms because it was too hot upstairs.