Name ______________________________________
Compound Subjects and Predicates vs. Compound Sentences
Remember that in simple sentences, sometimes the subject, the predicate, or both may be compound. The
sentences below are all simple sentences, even though they have compound parts.
Compound Subject:
Apes and monkeys are primates.
Compound Predicate:
Scientists observe and study wildlife.
Compound Subject and
Compound Predicate:
Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey observed and studied primates in the wild.
A compound sentence contains two or more simple sentences joined by a comma and a coordinating
conjunction (and, but, or, so, nor, yet, or for) or by a semicolon. The examples below show two different ways
to correctly punctuate a compound sentence.
Jane Goodall studied chimps, and Dian Fossey studied mountain gorillas.
Jane Goodall studied chimps; Dian Fossey studied mountain gorillas.
Read the following sentences. Determine whether the sentence contains a compound subject (CS),
compound predicate (CP), both (B) or if the sentence is actually a compound sentence (CdS).
_______________ 1. The Congo River begins in Zaire, flows 2, 718 miles, and empties into the Atlantic.
_______________ 2. The flags of Italy and Hungary share the same colors, but the stripes differ.
_______________3. The athletes ran for a long time, and they breathed hard.
_______________4. Lorraine read the book and wrote her report in one week.
_______________5. The carpenters measured and cut the wood for our new barn.
_______________ 6. A calculator or computer adds, subtracts, multiplies, and divides rapidly.
_______________ 7. Chimpanzees live in the rain forests of Africa; they eat berries, fruit, and some meat.
_______________8. I studied hard, and I passed the test.
_______________9. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers danced, acted, and sang in many movies.
_______________10. Scientists perform research with care and conduct experiments with even more care.
_______________11. Boll weevils seek the scent of cotton and destroy the plants.
________________12. Colorado is a beautiful state, and it has nice weather.
________________13. The game was close, but we won it in the last minute.
________________14. I went there last year, but I cancelled my reservation this year.
________________15. The choir sang and clapped for the audience.
________________16. Korean foods and Thai foods can be very spicy.
________________17. He just sat there; nobody talked to him.
________________ 18. Most plants require plenty of sunlight, but some plants thrive in low light.
________________19. The freshman class raised money and donated presents to charity.
________________20. Patti practiced every day for the recital; she played flawlessly.
________________ 21. Oscar fed and groomed the dog.
________________22. Prisms and other glass objects separate light into its component colors.
________________23. A city council or other government body discusses the proposed law and votes on it.
________________24. Pluto is the smallest planet in the solar system, and it is the farthest from the sun.
________________25. Warm air expands and rises, and cool air descends.