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Every complete sentence needs two main parts: a subject and a predicate. The subject tells us who or what the sentence is about, and the predicate tells us what the subject does.
A simple sentence contains one independent clause. This means it has a subject, a verb, and expresses a complete thought all by itself.
A compound sentence joins two independent clauses using a comma and a coordinating conjunction, like 'and', 'but', or 'so'. You can remember them with the word FANBOYS!
✏️ Worked example
Edit this draft sentence to make it a correct compound sentence: 'The sun was shining bright we went to the park.'
Identify the first independent clause: 'The sun was shining bright'. This has a subject and a verb, and stands alone.
Identify the second independent clause: 'we went to the park'. This also has a subject and a verb, and stands alone.
Notice that these two thoughts are run together without any punctuation or connector. This is a run-on sentence error.
Choose a coordinating conjunction that fits the meaning. Since the second part is a result of the first, 'so' is a great fit.
Place a comma after the first clause, followed by the conjunction 'so', and keep the rest of the sentence. The final edited sentence is: 'The sun was shining bright, so we went to the park.'
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