grammar - Conjunction Puzzle: Is this clause dependent or independent?


Third grade teacher here. I plan to teach students to distinguish between simple, compound and complex sentences — but only if I can demonstrate a clear and meaningful difference between the latter two!


Complex or Compound? Each sentence in the following pairs is similar to its partner.



  1. All dogs are mammals, so huskies are mammals.

  2. All dogs are mammals, therefore huskies are mammals.

  3. I come bearing soup, for Kate is sick.

  4. I come bearing soup, because Kate is sick.


Are the sentences above complex or compound?


First, we need to decide whether each italicized clause is independent or dependent. To me, they all look dependent. If that is the case, there's not much need to teach about compound sentences. Is there a meaningful difference between the sentences in each pair that I am missing? (Are the FANBOYS as special as they'd like to think?)




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