In English we can basically talk about three different types of sentences: Simple, Compound and compound complex. In this part of our course, we are going to start constructing solid SIMPLE SENTENCES; with solid and correct simple sentences we can write very good paragraphs using basic structures. 

Sentence Structures

To begin with, it is important to consider that the structure of sentences in English is fundamental to understanding and teaching this language as a foreign language.

Some highlights about English sentence structure:

• Subject and Predicate: Every sentence in English must contain a subject and a predicate. The subject indicates who or what is being talked about, and the predicate includes the verb and provides information about the topic.
• Word Order: The typical word order in an English sentence is subject (S), verb (V) and object (O), following the SVO structure.
• Types of Sentences: There are different types of sentences in English, such as affirmative, negative, interrogative and exclamatory, each with its own structuring rules.
• Additional Elements: Sentences can include modifiers, such as adjectives and adverbs, to provide additional information about the subject, object, or action of the verb.

It is necessary to make a reminder about the clauses:

An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete idea. It is the simplest sentence you can write. For example, "The cat is sleeping" is an independent clause, where "The cat" is the subject and "is sleeping" is the predicate.

Independent clauses can function on their own as complete sentences. They begin with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark, such as a period. However, they can also join other clauses (independent or dependent) to form more complex sentences.

Dependent clauses, also known as subordinate clauses, are related to the main clause in several ways in English:

• They provide additional information: Dependent clauses add details or additional information to the main sentence. For example, in the sentence "I eat breakfast before I go to work," the dependent clause "before I go to work" provides additional information about when breakfast is eaten.
• They depend on the main clause to make sense: Although dependent clauses contain a subject and a verb, they cannot function on their own as complete sentences. They need to be connected to a main sentence to form a complete sentence3. For example, in the sentence "I planted flowers because I like flowers," the dependent clause "because I like flowers" ​​does not make sense on its own, but when combined with the main clause "I planted flowers," the entire sentence has sense.
• They are introduced by subordinating conjunctions: Dependent clauses usually begin with a subordinating conjunction, such as "because", "if", "although", "when", etc. These subordinating conjunctions indicate the relationship between the dependent clause and the main clause.

Types and structure of sentences

Simple Sentences

Compound Sentences

These sentences contain two or more independent clauses, which are sentences that could stand alone. These clauses are usually joined by coordinating conjunctions such as "and", "but", "or", etc. 

For example, in the sentence "I tried to speak Spanish, and my friend tried to speak English," there are two independent clauses: "I tried to speak Spanish" and "my friend tried to speak English." These clauses could be a sentence independently, but they are combined to form a compound sentence.

Complex Sentences

These sentences contain an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses, which cannot function on their own. 

For example, in the sentence "Although he's quiet, he's very intelligent," "he's very intelligent" is the independent clause and "Although he's quiet" is the dependent clause. The dependent clause provides additional information that is necessary to understand the meaning of the sentence fully.

Compound-Complex Sentences

These sentences contain at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.

 For example, in the sentence "Although I like to go camping, I haven't had the time to go lately, and I haven't found anyone to go with", there are two independent clauses: "I haven't had the time to go lately" and "I haven't found anyone to go with", and a dependent clause: "Although I like to go camping". These types of sentences are the most complex and are used to express more detailed and nuanced ideas.

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