Compound sentence (linguistics)

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In the English language, a compound sentence is composed of at least two independent clauses, but no dependent clauses. The clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction (with or without a comma), a correlative conjunction (with or without a comma), or a semicolon with no conjunction.

Contents 1 Examples 2 Contrast 3 See also 4 External links

[edit] Examples

• He finally bought the book, or so I thought.

  The two independent clauses are joined by a comma and the coordinating conjunction "or".

• Either he goes or I go.

  The compound sentence is held together by the correlative conjunction "either…or".

• Mary understands math; she has studied it for years.

  Here the two are joined by a semicolon with no conjunction.

[edit] Contrast

• He finally read the book that I gave him.

  that I gave him is a dependent clause. This is a complex sentence, not a compound sentence. then

[edit] See also

• Simple sentence
• Complex sentence
• Complex-compound sentence

[edit] External links

• The Structure of a Sentence