While you may not be ready to emulate the rich variety of sentences found in Tolstoy and Twain, you can learn some basic sentence structures that will improve the readability of your writing.

Compound Sentence

Let’s start with compound sentences, which are formed when two equal ideas or independent clauses are combined. To make a new sentence from two simple sentences, you can use a comma and coordinating conjunction.

My chili is painfully hot.

His chili will incinerate your insides.

My chili is painfully hot, but his chili will incinerate your insides.

The description of each cook’s chili is an independent clause and is able to stand on its own; however, the use of the coordinating conjunction “but” connects the clauses in a more meaningful comparison. The acronym, FANBOYS (For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So) will help you remember the coordinating conjunctions. Remember that independent clauses need stronger connectors than a comma. You can connect one clause to another with a semicolon or with a comma and a conjunction. One more caution: don’t mistake simple sentences with compound subjects or compound predicates for compound sentences.

My chili and cornbread recipes are praised by connoisseurs. (compound subject)

My chili boiled over and burned. (compound predicate)

Complex Sentence

Complex sentences provide another option for combining thoughts. In a complex sentence, though there are two clauses, one receives more emphasis. At least one subordinate or dependent idea is linked to the independent idea by a subordinating conjunction (as, while, since, because, if, although, unless, after, until, before, etc.)

Winning the chili cook-off seemed even more remote as I watched the judge lick my competitor’s bowl clean.

The second clause in this sentence, “as I watched the judge lick my competitor’s bowl clean,” is dependent on the first clause. You can reverse the independent/dependent order for equally effective complex sentences. When the dependent clause comes first, you need to use a comma to separate it from the independent clause.

As I watched the judge lick my competitor’s bowl clean, winning the chili cook-off seemed even more remote.

Another way to combine two ideas is to use a relative pronoun like who to connect the dependent clause to the independent clause. Notice that the dependent clause is set off by commas. You’ll spend more time on the punctuation of complex sentences in the “Punctuation” lesson.

Willie, who was the best cook in our town, opened a restaurant.

Compound-Complex Sentence

As you are shaping your ideas, you may find that you need to express more sophisticated thoughts. For that you’ll have to move up the ladder of sentence complexity to compound-complex. Perhaps the easiest way to understand the potential of this marvelous structure is to build a sentence beginning with one independent clause as the foundation.

Use this table as a checklist: Review each structure and place a check in the first column on the left.

	Sentence Structure	Definition	In Other Words	Connecting Words	Example
	Simple	A sentence with one subject and one predicate	One idea		Texas chili is not made with ground beef.
	Compound	A sentence composed of at least two independent clauses	Two equal ideas	Coordinating conjunction, FANBOYS, or semicolon	Chili with beans is OK, but chili without beans is pure Texan.
	Complex	A sentence with an independent clause and at least one dependent clause	Two unequal ideas	Subordinating conjunction (because, as, if, while, when, that, although, etc.) or relative pronouns	I ate all that chili even though I know it came from a can.
	Compound-complex	A compound sentence with at least one dependent clause	Two equal ideas and one unequal idea	Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions	While bland as a canned speech, canned chili can be eaten, but both are hard to swallow.