COMPOUND SENTENCES

A compound sentence refers to a sentence made up of two independent clauses (or complete sentences) connected to one another with a coordinating conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember if you think of the words "FAN BOYS":

• For
• And
• Nor
• But
• Or
• Yet
• So

Examples of compound sentences include the following:

1. Joe waited for the train, but the train was late.       
    
2. I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station, but they arrived at the station before noon and left on the bus before I arrived.    
    
3. Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon, and they left on the bus before I arrived.     
    
4. Mary and Samantha left on the bus before I arrived, so I did not see them at the bus station.

Tip:

If you rely heavily on compound sentences in an essay, you should consider revising some of them into complex sentences (explained below).

Coordinating conjunctions are useful for connecting sentences, but compound sentences often are overused. While coordinating conjunctions can indicate some type of relationship between the two independent clauses in the sentence, they sometimes do not indicate much of a relationship. The word "and," for example, only adds one independent clause to another, without indicating how the two parts of a sentence are logically related. Too many compound sentences that use "and" can weaken writing.

Clearer and more specific relationships can be established through the use of complex sentences.