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Consumers shop in ways that can be predicted by such determinants as income level, sex, and age; consequently, producers use market research to identify different target groups for their products.

These four sentences become progressively longer, and the information they contain becomes increasingly detailed, but they also differ in their structure—specifically, in the number of independent and dependent clauses they contain.

The Simple Sentence: One Statement at a Time

How and why to use the simple sentence: The simple sentence consists of a single independent clause. Simple sentences are the most effective choice when you wish to say something clearly and forcefully. They are especially effective in contrast to longer and more complicated sentences that may surround them. They give the reader—and the writer—a chance to get grounded. It’s as if the sentence structure itself—the syntax—says: “simply put.” If you find yourself getting confused while writing something complicated, it’s probably time for a simple sentence. On the other hand, if you string together too many simple sentences in a row, you are probably not adequately connecting your ideas. At its most basic, the simple sentence contains a single subject and verb.

Consumers shop.

Other words and phrases can be added to this sentence, but it will remain simple so long as “Consumers shop” is the only clause.

Most consumers shop unwisely.

Even if the sentence contains more than one grammatical subject or more than one verb, it remains simple in structure.

Most consumers shop unwisely and spend more than they can afford. [two verbs]

Both female consumers and their husbands shop unwisely. [two subjects]

The sentence structure in the example that uses two verbs (“shop” and “spend”) is known as a compound predicate. The sentence structure in the example that uses two subjects (“consumers” and “husbands”) is known as a compound subject. If, however, you were to add both another subject and another verb to the original simple sentence, you would have the next sentence type, a compound sentence.

The Compound Sentence: Two Items of Equal Weight

How and why to use the compound sentence: The compound sentence consists of at least two independent clauses and no subordinate clauses. The information conveyed in these clauses should be of roughly equal importance. Use compound sentences when you are grouping in twos, both pairing likes and balancing oppositions. There should probably be some kind of conceptual linkage between the two clauses. Using compound sentences helps both you and your readers to organize the information.

In most cases, the two independent clauses in a compound sentence are bound by a coordinating conjunction (and, or, but are the most common), preceded by a comma. This comma is extremely useful, for it lets your readers know as they move across the sentence that you are about to add a second independent clause. Compound sentences put equal grammatical weight on each independent clause.

Producers manufacture, and consumers shop.

As with the simple sentence, you can also add qualifying phrases to the compound sentence, and it will remain compound, as long as no dependent clauses are added.

Consumers shop in predictable ways, so producers manufacture with different target groups in mind.

Consumers shop recklessly during holidays; marketers are keenly aware of this fact.

Note that a compound sentence can connect its independent clauses with a semicolon as an alternative to the comma + coordinate conjunction. This is the primary use of the semicolon—to link two independent clauses that are closely related in some way. (See What Punctuation Marks Say: A Quick-Hit Guide in Chapter 19.) If you were to substitute a subordinating conjunction for either of these connectors, however, you would have a sentence with one independent clause and one dependent clause. For example:

Because consumers shop in predictable ways, producers manufacture with different