Name ________________________________
Compound Sentences
A compound sentence contains two or more simple sentences joined by a coma and a coordinating
conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) 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.
Wild monkeys may live more than twenty years, and gorillas may live more than forty.
Wild monkeys may live more than twenty years; gorillas may live more than forty.
A run -on sentence is two or more sentences incorrectly written as one sentence. To correct a run-on, write it
as separate sentences or form one complete correctly-punctuated sentence as shown in the examples below.
Run-on:
Run-on:
Correct:
Correct:
Monkeys beat their chests they swing from trees.
Monkeys beat their chests, they swing from trees.
Monkeys beat their chests, and they swing from trees.
Monkeys beat their chests; they swing from trees.
A. Write C before each compound sentence and R before each run-on sentence.
_____ 1. Apes and monkeys are primates humans are primates, too.
_____2. However, apes are different from monkeys, they’re bigger and they don’t have a tail.
_____3. Apes are big and powerful, but they can also be gentle.
_____4. There are about 130 species of monkeys, and scientists divide them into two main
groups.
_____5. Old World monkeys are found in Africa and Asia, New World monkeys are found in the
Americas.
_____6. The smallest New World monkey is the pygmy marmoset; it is only five inches long.
B. Write C in the blank before each compound sentence and R before each run-on sentence. Then
rewrite each run-on sentence to create one compound sentence.
_____7. Some gibbon families sing a song every morning; it warns other gibbons to stay away.
_____8. The doglike barks of a howler monkey resound in the rain forest they can be heard for
miles.
_____9. Primates communicate in other ways, too, monkeys smack their lips as a friendly invitation.
_____10. Chimpanzees regularly fight and make up, most disputes are resolved quickly.
_____11. Young members like to play and tease, it’s fun and helps them learn the rules.
_____12. Some monkeys aren’t just funny they’re funny-looking.
_____13. The proboscis monkey is named after its most prominent feature the males have a huge, droopy
nose.
_____14. The uakari has a bright red face, and it turns even brighter with excitement.
_____15. A male mandrill has blue cheeks and a red nose, but he also has sharp, four-inch-long teeth.