Chapter XIX: Compound Sentences

=63.= We have seen that sentences may be joined together by conjunctions. When two or more independent clauses are joined together in this way, we say that the sentence is =compound=; as, “Coral reefs resemble great rock ledges, and vessels are often wrecked upon them.”

=64.= The conjunctions most used in compound sentences are _and_, _or_, _but_, _yet_, _therefore_, and _so_.

_And_ shows that two clauses are in the same line of thought; as, “His eye was bright, and his face was ruddy.”

_Or_ shows a choice between two clauses; as, “You must work, or you must go hungry.”

_But_ and _yet_ show a contrast; as, “I mailed the letter, but Uncle Joe never received it.”

_Therefore_ and _so_ show that the second clause is a consequence of the first; as, “There are fires in the forests north of us, therefore the air is full of smoke.”

=65.= Sometimes when the relation between clauses is perfectly evident, the conjunction is omitted; as, “I came; I saw; I conquered.”

In order that the reader may have no doubt as to where a clause ends, it is usually followed by a comma, which speaks to the eye of the reader just as a pause speaks to the ear of the listener. When the clauses are long or the conjunction is omitted, a semicolon may be used instead of the comma.

=Summary.=—A =compound sentence= contains two or more independent clauses.

The clauses of a compound sentence are separated from each other by a comma or a semicolon.

=Exercise.=—Select all the clauses in the following compound sentences. Tell the relation between them, and how they are joined. Tell the subject and predicate of each clause. Account for the punctuation.

1. Over the porch grew a hop-vine, and a brandy-cherry tree
shaded the door, and a luxuriant cranberry vine flung its
delicious fruit across the window.

2. Mr. Peterkin liked to take a doze on his sofa in the room,
but the rest of the family liked to sit on the piazza.

3. Prosperity makes friends; adversity tries them.

4. The whole family planted the potatoes; George dug the holes
with his hoe, Mollie dropped into each one three pieces of an
old potato, Paul raked the black earth over them, and Mother
supervised and praised them all.

5. Some of the letter-carriers must take very long walks, but
English people do not appear to object to that sort of thing.

6. Oh, come ye in peace here, or come ye in war?

7. At the end of the first year the young lions shed their
teeth, the first indications of manes appeared on the males,
and the playfulness between brother and sister ceased.

8. The clumsy wheels of several old-fashioned coaches were
heard, and the gentlemen and ladies composing the bridal party
came through the church with the sudden and gladsome effect of
a burst of sunshine.

9. I had never been called pretty before, so I was flattered.

10. The yellow cur has not the speed of the greyhound, but
neither does he bear the seeds of lung and skin diseases.

11. The party did not return to Skarpsno until half-past eight
in the evening, yet the sun was still above the horizon.

12. We cherish every memorial of our worthy ancestors; we
celebrate their patience and fortitude; we admire their daring
enterprise; we teach our children to venerate their piety.

13. Every animal has some great strength, or it could not live;
every animal has some great weakness, or the other animals
could not live.

14. Human action can be modified to some extent, but human
nature cannot be changed.

15. Captain John Smith was exasperatingly sure of himself, and
older men found his pretensions well-nigh unbearable.