1. Simple and Compound Sentences
TEN-MINUTE GRAMMAR
Simple and Compound Sentences

2. DAY ONE -Simple and Compound Sentences
Decide whether each example below is an INDEPENDENT CLAUSE (answer YES or NO):
1. The little purple fairy.
2. She lived in the woods with all her fairy friends.
3. Her name was Violet.
4. Named after her great grandmother, the ugliest fairy in the forest.
5. Whenever someone calls Violet ugly.
6. Violet gets really mad, knocks the person out, and feeds him or her to the nearest tree troll.
7. She has anger issues.
8. According to her fairy psychiatrist.

3. DAY ONE - Simple and Compound Sentences
An INDEPENDENT CLAUSE is a group of words that can stand alone as a sentence and must contain a SUBJECT and a PREDICATE.
Read each of the following excerpts from Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and decide if it has a SUBJECT AND A PREDICATE (answer INDEPENDENT or NOT INDEPENDENT):
and now, three years later
King Christian was getting old
badly injured last year in a fall from his horse, faithful old Jubilee
had carried him around Copenhagen so many mornings
for days they thought he would die
and all of Denmark had mourned
Fill in the blank to complete the independent clause:
My new red bicycle ___________________________ .
___________________________ could destroy the entire planet.

4. DAY ONE – Simple and Compound Sentences
How many INDEPENDENT CLAUSES does each example sentence have (look for subjects and predicates)?
Simple sentence: Phil the firefly flew through the forest.
Compound sentence: He wanted to find some friends, so Phil blinked his bioluminescent bottom.
Simple sentence: Finally, he met a female firefly by the lake.
Compound sentence: Phil blinked three times to ask the fine-looking firefly her name; she blinked twice to say, “Bug off!”

5. DAY ONE – Simple and Compound Sentences
How many INDEPENDENT CLAUSES does each example sentence have (look for subjects and predicates)?
Simple sentence: Phil the firefly flew through the forest. ONE
Compound sentence: He wanted to find some friends, so Phil blinked his bioluminescent bottom. TWO
Simple sentence: Finally, he met a female firefly by the lake. ONE
Compound sentence: Phil blinked three times to ask the fine-looking firefly her name; she blinked twice to say, “Bug off!” TWO

6. DAY ONE – Simple and Compound Sentences
In your own words… 5. What is a “simple sentence” (look at sentences 1 and 3)? 6. What is a “compound sentence” (look at sentences 2 and 4)? Is the following example a SIMPLE sentence or a COMPOUND sentence? 7. Feeling flustered, Phil the firefly forgot to blink back and flew away.

7. DAY TWO – Simple and Compound Sentences
One way to combine two independent clauses is to put a comma and a coordinating conjunction between them. Coordinating conjunctions are words like and, but, so and or.
Combine the two SIMPLE sentences using a comma and a coordinating conjunction. Rewrite the full COMPOUND sentence:
Candy is delicious. I eat it all the time.
My dentist told me to stop eating so much candy. I didn’t listen to her.
My favorite candy bar is Snickers. I also like Kit Kats.

8. Wait! The room looks different!
Find a temporary seat.
At the bell, you will get your new seat.
Have a writing utensil ready for the 3-point checkpoint quiz on TMG.

9. THREE-POINT QUIZ CHECKPOINT
An independent clause must stand on its own and contain a _____________ and a ________________.
In your own words, what is a simple sentence?
Is the following sentence a simple sentence or a compound sentence?
Mrs. Martin loves coffee, so she drinks it daily.

10. THREE-POINT QUIZ CHECKPOINT
An independent clause must stand on its own and contain a subject and a predicate.
In your own words, what is a simple sentence? A simple sentence is one that contains one independent clause (one subject, one predicate).
Is the following sentence a simple sentence or a compound sentence?
Mrs. Martin loves coffee, so she drinks it daily.
Compound sentence

11. DAY THREE – Simple and Compound Sentences
Read the following sentences from Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. Decide if each sentence is a SIMPLE sentence or a COMPOUND sentence.
Fortunately, the last day of school was brief.
I’d been in and out of schools before, but I’d always been in the protective shade of my daddy.
Miss Sadie drew a breath and seemed to hold it forever; finally, she exhaled.
Then, still without looking at me, she raised her hand ever so slightly.

12. DAY THREE – Simple and Compound Sentences
Do the following compound sentences combine independent clauses correctly (answer YES or NO)? If it’s not correct, how could you fix it? 5. Jessica’s cell phone fell on the floor now it doesn’t work. 6. Her friends keep trying to call and text her, but Jessica hasn’t received any of their messages. 7. She asked her parents for a new phone, they decided to wait until her birthday to buy it for her.

13. DAY FOUR – Simple and Compound Sentences
Read the following excerpt from Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool. Then answer the four questions below: (a) That put an idea into my head, and I mulled it over. (b) If he was trying to get his outside chores done early, maybe Miss Sadie would be off doing the same and wouldn’t come back till noon. (c) This was my chance to get my compass back without risking loss of limb or soul.

14. DAY FOUR – Simple and Compound Sentences
(a) That put an idea into my head, and I mulled it over. (b) If he was trying to get his outside chores done early, maybe Miss Sadie would be off doing the same and wouldn’t come back till noon. (c) This was my chance to get my compass back without risking loss of limb or soul.
What type of sentence is sentence (a)?
Is sentence (b) a compound sentence?
What is the helping verb in the underlined verb phrase in sentence (b)?
What type of sentence is sentence (c) ?

15. QUIZ DAY Review for today’s quiz!
What is a simple sentence? What is a compound sentence?
Are the following sentences SIMPLE or COMPOUND?
The screen on my cell phone broke last night.
Without even breaking a sweat, the track star ran a mile just to warm up.
That video game is amazing; I play it every day.
My dad’s TV doesn’t work anymore, so he is buying a new one.

16. QUIZ DAY 3. Are the following compound sentences punctuated correctly?
a. I usually eat cereal for breakfast, but this morning I decided to have ham and eggs.
b. My English teacher got really mad at me yesterday I forgot to put the correct punctuation between two independent clauses.
4. What is a coordinating conjunction?
5. Can you write your own example of simple and compound sentences?