Shana's Guide to the Sentence (Advanced Lessons)

If you've been following this guide from the beginning, we've learned two major points about sentences.

One: A complete sentence must contain both a subject (a noun) and a verb that the noun is actively doing. It also must portray a complete idea.

Two: All sentences must contain a clause. We've covered the two major clauses: dependent and independent. Here's some links if you've started reading here instead of at the start:

Basic Lesson
Intermediate Lesson...

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So, we've learned about the two major clauses. Now let's work on putting them together. For the first leson, we'll be looking at compound sentences.

Compound Sentences: Compound sentences that consist of two independent clauses joined together using a conjunction. Note that I said two independent clauses. Cramming an independent clause and a dependent clause together do not make a compound sentence. "So Shana," you may ask, "What is a conjunction?"

So glad you asked...

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Conjunctions: Fan boys. Yes, Fan boys. Fan boys is your conjunctions. Not the word itself, for this is an acronym. (or abbreviation)

The conjunction words are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so.

For
And
Nor

But
Or
Yet
So

If you remember the acronym, "Fan Boys," you'll likely be able to remember what your conjunctions are. Now let's see how they are used in compound sentences in the examples below. I'll highlight the two independent clauses in orange, and the conjunctions in red.

Shana did not like to fight at a distance, so she quickly leaped forward to engage Trunks in melee.

The man did not want to cross the street, yet the store he wanted to go to was on the other side.

She may have been mad at her boyfriend, but she knew that it was nothing more than a speed bump in their relationship.

I'd like to point out two notes pertaining to the above examples. My first note is that each of the independent clauses can stand as a sentence on it's own. Let's look at the very first example once more.

Shana did not like to fight at a distance, so she quickly leaped forward to engage Trunks in melee.

If we take the conjunction out, we are left with two simple sentences.

Shana did not like to fight at a distance.
She quickly leaped forward to engage Trunks in melee.

If you take another glance at the intermediate guide, this shows that these two clauses are independent and can stand alone as a complete thought, and hence, a complete sentence. The reason we combine the two into a compound sentence is simple. Both of these clauses are in direct correlation with each other. In other words, they are directly related. Thus, we make it into one sentence.

The next fact I'd like to point out is the use of the comma before the conjunction. This is an important piece of punctuation that I will expand upon in a separate guide. But for now, I will touch it so you can better understand its use in a compound sentence.

Think of a comma like a breather. When you say the compound sentence that I've quoted aloud, you naturally pause for a fraction of a second where the comma is. (If you don't, you should) There's a reason for this. When we speak to an individual and state that sentence, we want to portray that there are two separate and independent ideas in there. It's gives the listener a "break" to absorb the first clause.

In the same fashion, a comma is used to give the reader a small pause. If we were to take out the comma, we would be left with this:

Shana did not like to at a distance so she quickly leaped forward to engage Trunks in melee.

It may not seem obvious, (and it shouldn't be, as this thought process is done in a subconscious level) but without the comma, our brain has to forcefully divide the sentence by itself. With the comma, this takes one simple step because we know where the break is. Without the comma, it takes more steps as the brain must figure out where the invisible wall is. Again, this may seem complex, but once you master this, you just know it. It's like riding a bicycle. After you learn, you don't have to force yourself to balance. You just balance.

Now that we've looked at the compound sentence, we will look at the much more difficult complex sentence in the next guide.

Again, if you have any comments, questions, ect.: feel free to leave a comment!