Compound Sentences Video Lecture

This lesson is on writing compound sentences. Remember the three types of sentences that you should already know. A simple sentence just has one independent clause. A compound sentence has two independent clauses. And this example shows you the two independent clauses joined with a comma and the conjunction and. A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. Remember, these are some of the conjunctions that can be used with a comma to make a compound sentence. You join two independent clauses with these conjunctions, and this makes one type of compound sentence. Here are some examples of those compound sentences. The waiter brought us some water, and we looked at the menus. We have two sentences here, and they are joined with the comma and the conjunction and. Look at the next one. The cyclist used all of his energy, but he rode up the steep hill very slowly. Again, we have two sentences. And these two sentences are joined with a comma and the conjunction but. This makes a compound sentence. But there’s another way to make a compound sentence and that’s with transition words. These are just some of the transition words that you can use in your writing. You need to memorize these words because they are punctuated differently than the conjunctions. Here are some examples of this type of compound sentence. I was late to work; therefore, my boss is not happy. Again, I have two sentences. And I’m joining them with a transition word, therefore. Notice the punctuation. When I use a transition word I have to put a semicolon in front of the word and a comma after the word. Look at the next example. Saving money is not easy; however, it is a good habit to follow. Again, I have two sentences and I’m joining them with a transition word, so I have to put the semicolon in front of the transition, and a comma after the transition. This makes a second type of compound sentence. Let’s look at a couple more examples. Jane needs to buy a new car; also, she needs money for her tuition. Also is another transition word. And it’s joining two sentences, so we put a semicolon in front of it and a comma after it. Look at the next one. He needs to study harder; otherwise, he’s not going to pass the class. We used otherwise to join these two sentences. And we put the semicolon in front and the comma after. So remember that list of transition words that you can use like this. You’ll punctuate them all the same, with a semicolon in front of the transition and a comma after the transition. Let’s check your understanding. These are some sentences that have not been punctuated. Pause the video and write these sentences down. This is good practice for you. In each sentence, decide if you need to add punctuation or not. Some of them may need no punctuation. But if it’s a compound sentence, you’ll need to do something. Remember that before a conjunction, you put just a comma, for a transition word, you’ll put a semicolon and a comma. Pause the video now and do the exercise. Let’s see how you did. In the first one, we had a transition word joining two sentences. So we need to put a semicolon in front of however and a comma after. In the second sentence we just had a simple sentence. It’s not a compound sentence. Because after and, we don’t have a subject and verb. Remember you have to join two sentences together to have a compound sentence. In this sentence we just have two objects joined by and, so you don’t put a comma. Look at the third sentence. We’re joining two sentences with the transition therefore. So we put a semicolon in front of it and a comma after it. On the fourth sentence we joined two sentences with the conjunction so. So we need to put a comma in front of it. On the next one we joined two sentences with the transition then. So again, a semicolon in front and a comma after. The same thing on the last one. We had two sentences and we’re joining them with the transition thus. So put a semicolon in front of it and a comma after it. It’s pretty easy, right? As long as you remember the two groups of words. You put a comma in front of conjunctions and you put a semicolon in front of a transition with a comma after it. There is one other type of compound sentence that you might use occasionally. In this type of compound sentence we only use a semicolon to join two sentences. Look at the first example. Susan is very healthy; she usually walks to work. Notice that these two sentences are very closely related. And we kind of have the meaning of and here. Susan is very healthy and she usually walks to work. Right? You can imagine that. When we have two sentences that are very closely related and have the idea of and, we can use a semicolon by itself to join the two sentences. Notice I don’t have a conjunction or transition here. I’m just using a semicolon, and it has kind of the meaning of and. Look at the next example. The music was loud; everyone was dancing. Again, notice that these two sentences are very closely related. And we could imagine saying and here. When your sentences are closely related, you can join them with a semicolon. However, be careful that you do not use this method or this type of sentence too much in your writing. Maybe only one time per page, or maybe one time per paragraph, but not more than that. So remember, there are three types of compound sentences that you can put in your writing. The first type uses a comma and conjunction like and, but, or so. The second type of compound sentence uses a semicolon with a transition and a comma. Transitions are words like therefore or however. The third type of compound sentence uses a semicolon only. And remember you can only do that when the two sentences are very closely related.