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Year 6 - English

Simple and compound sentences revision

Review, including word class, sentence types, tense, commas and colons

Unit Summary

In this unit, comprehensive review of all grammar and syntactical terminology needed for KS2 SATS tests is undertaken. Pupils review word class, the five taught sentence structures, all taught tenses, word families, Standard English and all taught punctuation, including at the higher level for GDS.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to practise simple and compound sentence test questions.

Key Notes

  • A simple sentence has one main clause.
  • There are four types of simple sentence: statement, question, command and exclamation.
  • A compound sentence has at least two main clauses joined with a co-ordinating conjunction.
  • Accurate sentences start with capital letters and end with full stops, question marks or exclamation marks.
  • A comma is placed before the co-ordinating conjunctions 'but' and 'or' in a compound sentence.

Vocabulary To Learn

  • simple sentence: a sentence about one idea that makes complete sense
  • main clause: a group of words that contains a verb and makes complete sense
  • compound sentence: a sentence formed of two main clauses and a joining word
  • co-ordinating conjunction: a word that joins two main clauses to form a compound sentence
  • comma: a punctuation mark used before 'but' or 'or' co-ordinating conjunctions in a compound sentence

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils may believe that only single main clauses can be joined by co-ordinating conjunctions.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain this English learning goal in two key points.

A simple sentence has one main clause. There are four types of simple sentence: statement, question, command and exclamation.

2. Define this language term and use it in a sentence. 'simple sentence'

a sentence about one idea that makes complete sense.

3. Correct this common English misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils may believe that only single main clauses can be joined by co-ordinating conjunctions. Correction: Co-ordinating conjunctions can join groups of words that might be sentences on their own, including at least one main clause.

More Lessons In This Unit

Browse all guides in the Year 6 English guide library.