COMPOUND SENTENCES

Compound sentences combine two or more independent sentencesinto one with the use of conjunctions known as FANBOYS.  The two independent sentences are usually separated by a comma. The acronym stays for:

• F– for
• A– and
• N– nor
• B– but
• O– or
• Y– yet
• S– so

Examples of compound sentences:

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• My father is at home, and my mother is at work.
• More than one hundred people applied for the job, but only two were hired.

There are three types of compound sentences:

1. The one that consists of two independent sentences separated by a comma and one of the FANBOYS conjunctions :  – More than one hundred people applied for the job, but only two were hired.
2. Two compound clauses are devided by a semicolon (;). The idea is that two sentences are related to one another although there is no any conjunctions in the sentence. – Susan wrote a novel; she wrote it really well! NOTES: -do not use a comma instead of a semicolon! -do not use the first capital letter after a semicolon (Susan wrote a novel; She wrote it really well!) – do not separate the two independent clauses with a conjuntion (Susan wrote a novel, and she wrote it really well!)
3. The third way of writing of a compound sentence is by adding a semicolon after which goes a conjunctive adverb which is between the two independent clauses: Susan wrote a novel; however, she didn’t write it well. Below are some of the conjunctive adverbs you can use: