a sentence about one idea that makes complete sense

a sentence formed of two main clauses and a co-ordinating conjunction

a sentence formed of at least one main clause and a subordinate clause

how a text flows to maintain the interest of the reader and achieve text purpose

Five sentence types

English

In this unit, pupils learn what the subject and object of a clause are when interrogating the five sentence types: simple, compound, adverbial complex, relative complex and non-finite complex. 

In 'Five sentence types', pupils revised the first four sentence types and learnt a fifth: the non-finite complex sentence. In this unit, pupils will learn what the subject and object of a clause are when interrogating the five sentence types. 

Using five sentence types 

two main clauses joined by a co-ordinating conjunction

a main clause joined to any type of subordinate clause

Match each type of sentence to its definition.

Match the types of simple sentence to the examples.

We could have dinner now, or we could have it later.

We can go to the cinema and we can enjoy the shops.

Which of the following are correctly formed compound sentences?

As Miss O'Neill spoke, we all listened carefully.

Mr Martinez was walking down the corridor and he was singing.

Mr Martinez was walking down the corridor, singing loudly.

Which of the following are complex sentences?

Sam, who didn't enjoy Science, sighed heavily.

Miss O'Neill frowned as she listened to my question.

Listening to my question, Miss O'Neill frowned.

Which of the following are non-finite complex sentences?

How can we improve text cohesion in our writing?

It needs a subordinate clause to make complete sense.

Which of the following are true for a main clause?

Match the types of subordinate clause to the examples.

Which of the following subordinate clauses are adverbial clauses?

Rushing towards the swings, we raced through the park.

The park, which had very little equipment, was deserted.

As Jun stomped in, he slammed the door behind him.

Jun stomped in, slamming the door behind him.

Which of these sentences contain a non-finite (-ing) clause?

Looking through the window, elves were working hard.

Looking through the window, I looked behind me.

Looking through the window, I saw elves working hard.

Which of these sentences uses a non-finite (-ing) clause correctly?

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.

Five sentence types

Lesson outcome

This lesson will be removed by end of Summer Term 2025.