Hybrid Sentences (1)

Study the following examples:

Bobby swatted a fly.	simple sentence
Bobby swatted a fly, and he crushed a cockroach.	compound sentence
Bobby swatted a fly and crushed a cockroach.	?

What should we call that last example? Is it a simple sentence or a compound sentence?

It may surprise you to learn that grammarians disagree.

• Some grammar textbooks call it "a simple sentence with a compound predicate."
• Other textbooks call it "a compound sentence with an implied subject."

So which is it? Take your pick! Or better yet, call it whatever your English teacher wants you to call it. In my class, we are going to call it a hybrid sentence.

hybrid =

the offspring of two plants or animals of different species, such as a mule (a hybrid of a donkey and a horse). a thing made by combining two different elements; a mixture.

In other words, imagine that a simple sentence and a compound sentence have gotten together and made a baby. That baby is a hybrid sentence—a sentence that is half-simple and half-compound.

Now that we've decided what we're going to call it, we are ready to complete the table.

Bobby swatted a fly.	simple sentence
Bobby swatted a fly, and he crushed a cockroach.	compound sentence
Bobby swatted a fly and crushed a cockroach.	hybrid sentence

Key Point:

A hybrid sentence can be defined in two different ways:

• A simple sentence with a compound predicate. (The subject of the sentence does two different "actions").
• A compound sentence with an implied subject. (The subject of the second clause is the same as the subject of the first clause, and therefore it is omitted, rather than explicitly restated).

Instructions for the Quiz

Answer the questions.

Quiz