sentence combining

Compounding sentences

Two or more independent clauses or simple sentences are combined into a single sentence. That means that there are at least two units of thought within the sentence, either one of which can stand by itself as its own sentence. The clauses of a compound sentence are either separated by a semicolon or connected by a coordinating conjunction (which is, more often than not, preceded by a comma). And the two most common coordinating conjunctions are and and but. (The others are or, for, yet, and so.) Let's see an example:

Tom was able to repair computers out of school, but there was not so many people in the school knew his skills.

Compounding sentence elements

If you have two or more sentences with parallel elements (subjects, objects, verbs and modifiers), you can usually combine them. Compound the parallel elements and use a coordinating conjunction to combine the remaining elements together. Let's see an example:

He is learning computer repair during the day.
He is learning computer programming in the evening.

We can combine the above two separate sentences into one as follows:

He is learning computer repair during the day and computer programming in the evening.

Subordinating clauses

In this way of combining sentences, you create a slightly more complex relationship between the two, showing how one idea depends on another. Make sure to watch your punctuation closely in these types of constructs. Let's see an example:

Tom fixed his friend's computer which was badly damaged.

Using appositives

An appositive phrase renames or re-identifies something that came earlier in the text, such as the case with parenthetical statements or those enclosed within commas. When combining sentences, you can combine one idea as an appositive of another, provided they help identify the same object.Let's see an example:

A injured, a white woman, Mary, one of the members in school club, died two days ago.