English Grammar – Compound Sentences and Conjunctions

English grammar is easy once you know the rules. Below you will find some exercises to test your knowledge of the English written, and also spoken, language.

A compound sentence is one that may be joined by ‘and‘ or ‘but‘.
And usually shows that the second sentence follows on naturally from the first.
But usually shows that the second sentence says something unexpected or surprising.

Examples of compound sentences are:
The rain stopped and we felt much happier
The rain stopped but we were no better off.

A) Join these sentences together with and.

1) My head aches. I feel dizzy.
2) The savage tiger escaped from its cage. All the people ran away.
3) No rain has fallen for three months. The farmers’ crops are dying.
4) The back leg of the chair broke. Tom fell heavily to the floor.

B) Use ‘and‘ or ‘but‘ to join these sentences.

1) Six of their players were injured. They won the match easily.
2) Garry twisted his ankle in the park. He walked home unaided.
3) Helen’s green skirt is in the wash. Her brown one needs mending.
4) The airliner crashed moments after take-off. No-one was injured.

——————————
——————————

CONJUNCTIONS

And and But are called conjunctions. They are used to join two sentences of equal importance. If one sentence is more important than the other, different conjunctions can completely alter the meaning.

Example:
He left before it had ended.
He left after it had ended.

The meanings of these two sentences are quite different although only the conjunction has been changed.

A) Find the conjunction in each of these sentences.

1) Donkeys bray but horses neigh.
2) We rested while Janet went on.
3) They waited until Tom had gone.
4) I sing because I am happy.
5) I carried on although I was tired.
6) Dogs may bite if you tease them.

B) Write these sentences. Choose a conjunction from the list to fill in the spaces.

and although unless because until

1) He lit the fire _________ the children were very cold.
2) You will not be allowed into the ground _________ you have a ticket.
3) The lions were not fed _________ just before the visitors arrived.
4) The dog got out of its basket _________ followed them into the kitchen.
5) He tried to reach the fort _________ he was suffering from frost bite.

Make as many sentences as you can by putting different conjunctions in the space.

The army marched away from Moscow _________ the winter weather closed in.

See related articles:
English Grammar – Putting together simple sentences 

English Grammar – Sentences 

English Grammar – Negatives

English Grammar – Pronouns and Special Pronouns

English Grammar – Plural word Endings

English Grammar – English Grammar Test