| A | B |
|---|
| simple sentence | has a complete subject and predicate |
| compound sentence | contains two or more simple sentences or main clauses |
| complex sentence | has a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses |
| main clause | has a subject and predicate and can stand alone as a sentence |
| subordinate clause | group of words that has a subject and predicate but does not express a complete thought and cannot stand alone as a sentence |
| essential clause | a clause that is necessary to make the meaning clear |
| nonessential clause | an adjective clause that is not necessary to make the meaning of the sentence clear and uses commas to set it off |
| adjective clause | a subordinate clause that describes a noun or pronoun in the main clause |
| adverb clause | subordinate clause that describes the verb in the main clause |
| noun clause | a subordinate clause that does the job of subject, direct object, object of the preposition, or predicate noun |
| past participle | usually ends in -ed |
| present participle | ends in -ing |
| participal | can act as the main verb in a verb phrase or as an adjective to describe a noun |
| gerund | this verb form ends in -ing and is used as a noun |
| infinitive | formed from the word to with the base form of the verb |
