This set of English Grammar Exercises (MCQs) focuses on “Simple, Compound and Complex Sentences”.
1. Pick the simple sentence from the given options.
a) The man who wore red shirt was arrested for murdering his wife.
b) I think he might have left home without his bag.
c) He is confident that his brother will win.
d) I don’t know who the man is.
View Answer
Explanation: Here, “I don’t know who the man is” is the simple sentence here. A simple sentence has only one clause in it. The other sentences given contains more than one clause with multiple subjects (‘I and he’, ‘he and his brother’, ‘the man and his wife’) and more than one verb in it.
2. Identify the complex sentence among the given sentences.
a) Your daughter has done well in academics this year.
b) The old man in the shop did not buy anything.
c) The girl picked the paper and threw it in the bin.
d) She did not come to the party today because she felt sick.
View Answer
Explanation: The complex sentence is “She did not come to the party today because she felt sick”. A complex sentence is the sentence containing one independent and one or more dependent clauses that are connected by a conjunction. They hence have two or more subjects and two or more verbs in them. The complex sentence here thus has two clauses “She did not come to the party today” (independent) and “because she felt sick” (dependent) which are connected using the conjunction “because”.
3. The statement from the given options that best defines a simple sentence is ________
a) A sentence that contains only one independent clause in it.
b) A sentence with simple, understandable words in it.
c) A sentence with one dependent clause and one independent clause connected by a simple conjunction.
d) A sentence with subject and verb without objects and modifiers.
View Answer
Explanation: A simple sentence is the sentence that contains only one independent clause in it with a subject and a verb. It comes as a complete sentence and can stand alone without requiring a second clause. It also contains object and modifiers along with the subject and verb.
4. Which one is the compound sentence among the given?
a) Deepika ran to the store and bought some medicines.
b) Alia must not go alone or else she might get lost.
c) The car fell under the bridge into the river.
d) She is going for the music class and the party on the same day.
View Answer
Explanation: A compound sentence is a sentence with two or more independent clauses in it. These independent clauses are connected using a conjunction. The two clauses can stand alone by itself and are connected to the conjunction to form a complete compound sentence. Here, “Alia must not go alone or else she might get lost” is the compound sentence with two main clauses, “Alia must not go alone” and “she might get lost” connected using the conjunction “or else”.
5. The simple sentence among the given sentences is _____
a) The baby saw the balloons flying in the air with joy.
b) A man with a lot of money is always respected.
c) Hema has lost the purse that she had bought today.
d) Go out or you will be arrested.
View Answer
Explanation: Since a simple sentence has only one clause in it, the sentence “The baby saw the balloons flying in the air with joy” is the simple sentence among the given. There is only one clause that stand independently without any connecting conjunctions. Thus, it is the simple sentence.
6. Pick the complex sentence from the given sentences.
a) Go home and start studying for your exam.
b) The flower is very beautiful but it is poisonous in nature.
c) The girl ran away when he saw the kidnapper coming.
d) Ganesh will come to office and then he will discuss about the plan.
View Answer
Explanation: The complex sentence contains one independent and one or more dependent clauses that are connected by a conjunction. They also have two or more subjects and two or more verbs in them. Here, the sentence “The girl ran away when he saw the kidnapper coming” has one main clause “the girl ran away” and one subordinate clause “when he saw the kidnapper coming” and is thus the complex sentence among the given.
7. Which is the correct complex sentence among the following?
a) I think she should stay away from you.
b) She should stay away from you is what I think.
c) I think you should make her stay away from you.
d) She staying away from you is what I think.
View Answer
Explanation: Among the given sentences, “I think she should stay away from you” is the correct complex sentence with one main clause and one subordinate clause acting as the object of the verb, “think”.
8. State whether the following sentence is true or false.
‘The sunlight is too bright for my eyes’ is a simple sentence
a) True
b) False
View Answer
Explanation: In the sentence given, there is only one clause that acts as a whole to complete the meaning of the sentence. Hence, the given sentence is a simple sentence. Compound and complex sentences have two clauses in them, both independent in the case of compound and one main and the rest as a dependent clause in a complex sentence.
9. Choose the correct simple sentence from the following.
a) She cannot run fast without wearing proper shoes.
b) Shiva cannot go home if he doesn’t complete his work.
c) He had a pen but he wouldn’t lend it to the poor boy.
d) Varun should sing properly otherwise he will not be selected.
View Answer
Explanation: Since a simple sentence has only one clause in it, the sentence “she cannot run fast without wearing proper shoes” is the simple sentence among the given. There is only one clause that stand independently without any connecting conjunctions. Thus, it is the simple sentence. The other sentences are compound with two independent clauses like ‘but’ and ‘otherwise’ or complex with one main and one subordinate clause with conjunctions like ‘if’.
10. Identify the compound sentence from the given set of sentences.
a) He cannot meet you today as he went to Mumbai.
b) Wasim has fever therefore he will not eat ice cream.
c) Her leg was badly hurt so she limped while walking.
d) Ram goes by walk to home daily since he doesn’t have a vehicle.
View Answer
Explanation: The compound sentence is a sentence with two or more independent clauses in it. These independent clauses are connected using a conjunction. The two clauses can stand alone by itself and are connected to the conjunction to form a complete compound sentence. Here, “Her leg was badly hurt so she limped while walking” is the compound sentence with two independent clauses, “Her leg was badly hurt” and “she limped while walking”. These clauses are connected using a conjunction “so”. ‘as’, ‘since’, ‘therefore’, ‘since’ are all complex conjunctions which cannot be separated from the clause that follows it. So, the sentences with these conjunctions are complex sentences.
To practice all topics of English Grammar, here is complete set of 5000+ Questions and Answers.
If you find a mistake in question / option / answer, kindly take a screenshot and email to [email protected]
