Advanced Sentence Structure Tutorial Week 3 Compound Sentences

 Week 3 Sentence Structure Tutorial

Tuesdays 5-5:30

Allan Haley- ahaley@vsb.bc.ca

All of these notes will be posted on my blog: haleyshec.blogspot.com

REVIEW:

Four Sentence types:

SIMPLE- last week, notes at on my blog haleyshec.blogspot.com

COMPOUND- this week and next week

COMPLEX

COMPOUND/COMPLEX

*SIMPLE -one clause, subject + verb

SV

SSV

SVV

SSVV

It is a little cloudy today. We will go for a walk on the beach. 2 SIMPLE SENTENCES

*COMPOUND – two simple sentences join together into one

It is a little cloudy today. JOIN We will go for a walk on the beach.

MAIN POINT: A compound sentence is to join two simple sentences together.

How do you join them together?

FANBOYS – 7 coordinating conjunctions used for compound sentences

FANBOYS – mnemonic -for and nor but or yet so

FANBOYS  for and nor but or yet so   mnemonic, 7 coordinating conjunctions

MY OPINION:

, FANBOYS not realistic, not authentic English

In compound sentences: for nor yet rarely used in compound sentences by English speakers

taught in grammar books, but not often used

EXAMPLES OF INAUTHENTIC USAGE for nor yet

-for   

Maria is carrying her umbrella, for it is going to rain. VERY UNUSUAL, sounds like a grammar book

MORE LIKELY: Maria is going to carry her umbrella because it is going to rain. 

, for SUBSTITUTE because

COMPLEX SENT, ADVERB CLAUSE- will learn in two weeks

NOTE: ‘for’ is used in prepositional phrases, but not for compound sentences

Mei has a gift for you.

We don’t use ‘for’ in compound sentences even though the grammar books say that we do.

-nor   Joan does not like dogs, nor does she like cats.  VERY UNUSUAL, NOT AUTHENTIC ENGLISH, sounds like a grammar book

MORE LIKELY: Joan doesn’t like dogs or cats. SIMPLE

You probably studied ‘neither...nor’. 

ADVICE: Forget ‘neither...nor’. We don’t talk like that.

-yet   It is overcast today, yet it is still warm. NOT AUTHENTIC, SOUNDS WEIRDLY FORMAL

MORE LIKELY: It is overcast today, but it is still warm. AUTHENTIC

We do use ‘yet’ as a time indicator in simple sentences.

‘yet’ 

Are you finished yet? SIMPLE, NOT COMPOUND 

MY ADVICE: Forget about ‘for’, ‘nor’, and ‘yet’ for compound sentences.

We really don’t use them. Why learn them if we don’t use them?

Forget about FANBOYS.

FANBOYS

***These are the ones we use: so or but and ***

98% of the time: so or but and

New mnemonic: SOBA so or but and    

Let’s focus on SOBA.

soba – Japanese buckwheat noodles

yakisoba- 

Focus on the four coordinating conjunctions that we use all the time:

, SOBA

** FORM FOR COMPOUND SENTENCES:

SV, SOBA SV.

The cat is asleep. The dog is awake. 2 simple sentences

The cat is asleep. JOIN The dog is awake.

Join with , SOBA.

The cat is asleep, but the dog is awake. COMPOUND

The cat is asleep, and the dog is awake. COMPOUND

*NOTE: You need the comma.

I will teach you the details of punctuation. 

COMPARISON OF SIMPLE AND COMPOUND

SIMPLE- SVV 

Junko loves to dance but doesn’t like to sing.*

* no comma

COMPOUND SV, SOBA SV.

Junko loves to dance, but she doesn’t like to sing.*

*need a comma

Can you see the difference?

Junko loves to dance but doesn’t like to sing. SIMPLE

Junko loves to dance, but she doesn’t like to sing. COMPOUND

COMMON ERRORS WITH COMMA USAGE

Junko loves to dance, but doesn’t like to sing. XXX

Junko loves to dance but she doesn’t like to sing. XXX

If you get it wrong, it’s not a major problem. However, you can do it do correctly with focus, review, and practice.

The details are important.

REMINDER: SOBA is a better alternative to FANBOYS

SOBA  , so   , or   , but   , and

Example using , SOBA

, so = give a reason

SV, so SV.

May’s son lives in Boston, so she is eager to visit him.

Jin really wants a new violin, so she is saving up her money to buy one.

You want to go to Langara, so you are figuring out your prereqs.

, or = have a choice, alternative

SV, or SV.

You can work late tonight, or you can stay late tomorrow.

Sarah will go dancing tomorrow night, or she will stay home.

This is the advice I tell my kids: You can work hard when you are young, or you can work hard when you are old.

COMMON ERROR

You can have a tea, or a coffee. XXX SIMPLE

FIX

You can have a tea or a coffee. SIMPLE

You can have a tea, or you have a coffee. COMPOUND

You can have a tea, or a coffee. SV SIMPLE

You can have a tea or a coffee.

You can have a tea, or SV a coffee. COMPOUND

You can have a tea, or you can have a coffee.

IMPORTANT: When you are writing a sentence, always know what your SV is.

When I proofread writing, I check first for SV in every sentence. Most of the errors will be about SV.

TWO DIFFERENT WAYS TO GIVE THE SAME INFORMATION:

You can have a tea or a coffee. SIMPLE

You can have a tea, or you can have a coffee. COMPOUND

Which way do you like more?

Your aim is to be able to do both.

My advice is to mix it up. Write a nice variety of sentence styles.

, but = shows difference

Ling loves to go hiking, but she doesn’t like cycling.

I like to visit the US, but I would not want to live there.

Mei goes to the gym, but she doesn’t enjoy it.

, and = add another element

SV, and SV.

I can get the cake, and you get the plates.

Sarah plays volleyball, and Maria plays soccer.

REVIEW

*SIMPLE SENTENCES

SV   SSV   SVV   SSVV

*COMPOUND SENTENCES:

SV, SOBA SV.

Go to ChatGBT

Tell ChatGBT to write 50 compound sentences using so or but and. You can see what it comes up with.

AVOID STARTING A SENTENCE WITH SOBA

Ling likes to go hiking. But she doesn’t like cycling. XXX

VERY CASUAL, NOT GREAT FOR SCHOOL, BUSINESS

FIX

Ling likes to go hiking, but she doesn’t like cycling. 

Ling likes to go hiking; however, she doesn’t like cycling. teach next week   ; semicolons and transitional words

Practice:

Try some on your own. Write a few compound sentences using SOBA from your own imagination. 

I have choir/soccer/swimming/temple/school tonight, so I can’t go to the movie with you.

wanna – NOT A WORD  I wanna go to the park. XXX

want to- I want to go to the park.

gonna XXX

I am going to cut my hair.

Lazy Casual texting language- not for school

--- COMPOUND SENTENCES

FOR HOMEWORK

“Compound Sentence Exercises”

1. David likes to swim. He hates to hike.

David likes to swim, but he hates to hike.

2. John likes video games. John likes reading.

John likes video games, and John likes reading.

3. John likes video games. Junko likes reading.

John likes video games, but Junko likes reading.

4. Sarah must study. Sarah will not pass the test.

5. Jill should show up on time. Jill will not be able to enter.

6. Susie loves to read books. Susie loves to do her homework.

7. Irene likes to draw. Rita likes to draw.

8. Michael likes basketball. Stephen likes basketball..

9. Make sure to get to the airport two hours before your plane is due to leave. You will miss your flight.

10. The dangers of smoking are well known. Many people 

continue to smoke anyway.

11. It's important to put your goals in writing. You must also be committed to achieving them.