Chapter 15: Compound Sentences

Copyright © 2011

“The Far Side” by Gary Larson

This chapter has a few grammar terms that we’ll need to use, for which we apologize. We promise to use as few grammar terms in this book as possible. However, some grammar terms (because there are no other ways to talk about them) cannot be avoided. We’ll define the terms, so you can work with them and learn from them. Here are the terms we need to use in this chapter:
  • Compound Sentence
  • Coordinating Conjunction
That’s all!

A Compound Sentencearetwo sentences connected by a Coordinating Conjunction. Here’s an example:

Two Sentences: / The car1was for sale.
Peoplewanted to buy it.
Compound Sentence: / The carwas for sale, andpeoplewanted to buy it.

1To help with identification, we’ve underlined the Subjects and put the Verbs in bold.

’66 Mustang 2011 Mustang

The sentences are connected by a Coordinating Conjunction. Here’s a list of the Coordinating Conjunctions (the most common Coordinating Conjunctions are in bold type).

And
But
Or
So
For
Nor
Yet

The two sentences connected by a Coordinating Conjunction are of equal importance.

My motheris from Montana,and my fatheris from Wisconsin.

One interesting and useful feature of Compound Sentences is that if the Subject is repeated, you can choose to leave out the second Subject. Here’s an example:

Subject before and after the Conjunction: / Iapproached the car lot,andIlooked for the 1965 Mustang.
Repeated second Subject left out: / Iapproached the car lot and*looked for the 1965 Mustang.

*(Notice that when you leave the second Subject out, you remove the comma.)

Here’s another important point: Coordinating Conjunctions do not always connect two sentences. They can also connect two Subjects, two Verbs, two Adjectives, two Adverbs, or two Phrases.

Two Subjects: / Jerryandhis dad rebuilt the engine.
Two Adjectives: / The bookwasoldandfrayed.
Two Adverbs: / Heproceededcautiouslyandcarefully.
Two Phrases: / The horseranover the hillandinto the pasture.

In this chapter, we will focus only on Coordinating Conjunctions that connect two sentences. If you want to learn more about the other Coordinating Conjunctions, here’s a link where Coordinating Conjunctions are used in other ways:

Comma Rules with Compound Sentences

There are just a couple comma rules you’ll need to know when using Compound Sentences:

  • When a Coordinating Conjunction connects two full sentences, each with a Subject and a Verb, you need a Comma.
  • When a Coordinating Conjunction connects two sentences,and the second Subject repeats the first Subject and is left out, you do not use a Comma.

Here’s what we mean:

Two Sentences: / My motheris from Montana,andmy fatheris from Wisconsin.
Two Sentences: / Jannelwas sure about the tickets butcould not find them anywhere.

Helpful Web Link for Coordinating Conjunctions:

Practice 1.1 Compound Sentences – Beginning Level Soccer

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s), put the Verb(s) in bold, put parentheses around the (Coordinating Conjunctions) that connect two sentences. Add any commas that are needed.

1. You can Pop a Tylenol and take a brisk walk for protection against prostate cancer.

2. Men were participants in the study but no women were included.

3. The men had to walk at a fast pace or they did not reduce their risk.

4. Brisk walks may reduce insulin resistance and this also reduces the risk of diabetes.

5. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in men and more than 2.2 million men in the U.S. are living with prostate cancer.

Time Magazine Meredith Melnick Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Practice 1.2 Compound Sentences – Beginning Level Soccer

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s), put the Verb(s) in bold, put parentheses around the (Coordinating Conjunctions) that connect two sentences. Add any commas that are needed.

1. School lunches have been getting a lot of attention and President Obama signed a $4.5-billion bill to improve the quality of students' meals.

2. Health researchers installed cameras in lunch rooms and watched what kids were eating.

3. Junior may be eating French fries at lunchtime but parents can balance out his diet with a dinner of vegetable and lean proteins.

4. The researchers installed cameras in five public elementary schools and they picked the schools with high rates of child obesity and poverty.

5. Each child's meals will be tracked by a bar code on her tray but the cameras will not take pictures of the kids themselves.

6. The school will send individual dining data to the parents so they can provide more nutritious meals for their children.

Time Magazine Meredith Melnick May 12, 2011

Practice 2.1 Compound Sentences – Intermediate Level Soccer

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s), put the Verb(s) in bold, put parentheses around the (Coordinating Conjunctions) that connect two sentences. Add any commas that are needed.

  1. Xiang Yu crushed his troops’ cooking pots and burned their ships.
  1. He was not appreciated by many of the soldiers but General Xiang Yu would be vindicated on the battlefield.
  1. Dr. Ariely’s research shows that people often choose to make a poor decision and refuse to close off their options and choices.
  1. Most people can’t make a painful choice so they keep their options and choices open.
  1. The experiment involves a game and the game eliminates the excuses.

Practice 2.2 Compound Sentences – Intermediate Level Soccer

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s), put the Verb(s) in bold, put parentheses around the (Coordinating Conjunctions) that connect two sentences. Add any commas that are needed.

1. There have been many arguments about the greatest race horse ever but Secretariat put away all doubt in winning the Triple Crown in 1973.

2. Secretariat was born on March 29, 1970, and was the third offspring of 1957 Preakness winner Bold Ruler.

3. At the Kentucky Derby, the first of horse racing’s famed Triple Crown, Secretariat caught Sham halfway down the stretch and won by 2½ lengths in a world-record time of 1:59 2/5.

4. People were counting on Secretariat to win the Preakness or they thought he would place high in the money.

5. Secretariat was being counted on to win the Belmont and become the first Triple Crown champion in 25 years.

6. Secretariat's response in the Belmont went beyond unreal and he won by a jaw-dropping 31 lengths.

Secretariat – ready to race
/ Secretariat pulls away on the turn

YouTube Video: Secretariat sets the world record winning the Triple Crown with a 31 length victory in the Belmont Stakes:

Practice 2.3. Compound Sentences – Intermediate Level Soccer

In the following sentences, underline the Subject(s), put the Verb(s) in bold, put parentheses around the (Coordinating Conjunctions) that connect two sentences. Add any commas that are needed.

1. Wolves were once part of the landscape in many western states, yet most were killed off in the early and middle twentieth century.

2. Many ranchers and cowboys objected to the return of the wolves for they feared for the safety of their livestock.

3. The ranchers were reimbursed for any livestock lost to the wolves

4. The wolves were endangered so hunting them was illegal.

5. The wolves were wearing radio collars and scientists kept track of the wolves with the help of those collars.

Wolves Together

YouTube Video: Wolves: Look Through My Eyes

Practice 3 Compound Sentences – Challenge Level Soccer

Watch some incredible goals in the (Chivas Vs Barcelona) soccer match.

Underline the Subjects,put the Verbs in bold, put parentheses around the (Coordinating Conjunctions) that connect two sentences. Add any commas that are needed.

1. After being struck by a car in 2006, Rob Summers was given a grim prognosis: paralysis from the chest down and the possibility of never walking again but five years later he is able to stand on his own two feet unaided — thanks to an experimental treatment, whose success is giving hope to millions of patients with spinal-cord injuries.
Time Magazine: