1. Grammar Boot Camp Sentence Combining
Adapted from

2. Clauses
Clause: Group of words (at least two) containing both a subject and a verb
Independent Clause: Stands Alone
She is cray-cray.
I see dead people.
Dependent Clause: Does NOT Stand Alone
When I get home.
Because the girl is cray-cray.
(Usually has a subordinating conjunction)

3. Common Subordinating Conjunctions Only a partial list; there are dozens!
Before
After
When
Although
While
Because If
That
Since B A W I T S

4. Clause Practice
Identify the following as dependent clauses or independent clauses.
When the girl ate breakfast.
She loves puppies.
Because he ate play-dough.
He threw up. DC IC DC IC

5. Compound Sentences (2 ICs)

6. Compound Sentence : a Pattern: IC , for IC.
and
nor
but Coordinating Conjunctions or
yet so
Example: Charlie barks at nothing, so my mom goes crazy.
FANBOYS!

7. Compound Sentence: A More examples…
My mom didn’t want Charlie, but my sister convinced her.
My sister is in Chicago, so my mom is left to take care of him by herself.
My mom claims she can’t wait to get rid of him, yet she secretly loves him.

8. Compound Sentence : B Pattern: IC; IC.
Example: I went to the store; I bought some milk.

9. Compound Sentence : c Pattern: IC ; therefore , IC.
however
moreover Conjunctive Adverbs
furthermore
Example: I would love to have a cat; however, I know I don’t have time to take care of it.

10. Complex Sentences (DC + IC)

11. Complex Sentence : a Pattern: DC, IC.
Example: When my cat Blackie died,
I was very upset.

12. Complex Sentence : b Pattern: IC DC. Example:
I was very upset when my cat Blackie died.

13. Compound-Complex Sentence
A sentence with multiple independent clauses (at least 2) and at least one dependent clause: Catch-22 is widely regarded as Joseph Heller's best novel, and because Heller served in World War II, which the novel satirizes, the zany but savage wit of the novel packs an extra punch. Can you identify the independent and dependent clauses in this sentence?

14. Compound-Complex Sentence
A sentence with multiple independent clauses and at least one dependent clause:
Catch-22 is widely regarded as Joseph Heller's best novel, and because Heller served in World War II, which the novel satirizes, the zany but savage wit of the novel packs an extra punch.
IC, and DC, DC, IC

15. Now It’s Your Turn: Punctuate the following sentences properly:
I was scared when my cat ran away
Charlie can be very difficult but I still love him because he is so cute
Charlie got away from his leash one day however he didn’t even try to run away
Because my mom takes care of him I am happy

16. How well do you understand?

17. Q: What is a Coordinating Conjunction?
A: A coordinating conjunction joins independent clauses as well as other sentence elements of equal weight or function. The following is a list of coordinating conjunctions, commonly referred to as the “FANBOYS”:
for
and
nor
but FANBOYS (taken from the first letter of each word) or
yet so
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18. Q: What is a Conjunctive Adverb?
A: A conjunctive adverb indicates a relation between independent clauses. The following is a list of common conjunctive adverbs:
accordingly consequently indeed
also finally instead
anyway furthermore likewise
as a result hence meanwhile
besides however moreover
certainly incidentally nevertheless
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