When children start to write sentences, teachers and workbooks encourage simple sentences (sentences with one complete subject and one complete predicate). Such a sentence might be “I am seven years old” or “My dog had pups yesterday.”
As students progress, teachers encourage compound sentences (two simple sentences connected with a FANBOYS—for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so—conjunction). Such sentences might be “I am seven years old but I can ride a bike” or “My dog had pups yesterday and I can name one.”
As students progress to a greater age, and in theory, to more complex thinking, teachers encourage complex sentences (two simple sentences connected in such a way that one sentence is clearly more important). Such sentences could be “I am seven years old although I look older” or “My dog had pups yesterday while I slept.”
Teaching sentences this way presupposes that little children think in simple sentences, then gradually grow into thinking in compound sentences, and then as they mature more, think in complex sentences.
The problem is, this pairing of sentence types to maturity is a false correlation. Have you ever listened to four- and five-year-olds speak? “I want five candies because Johnny has five candies” (complex sentence). “For Halloween, I want to be a princess with a long pink dress and a sparkly crown in my hair and maybe ballerina slippers” (simple sentence). “She pushed me into the snow with a real hard push, the kind of push of a football player mad at the guy carrying the football.” (simple sentence)
These sentences in the previous paragraph contain complex thoughts (cause and effect, layered details, and a metaphor). Yet only the first sentence is a complex sentence, and of the three, it is the least complex in thought. The other two show far more complexity of thought, yet they are simple sentences.
The complexity of these sentences can be shown by boldfacing the simple subject and predicate, and by stacking the dependent ideas above (if they are said first) and below (if they are said after the subject and predicate). Notice how the two simple sentences show more layers (more complexity of thought) than the complex sentence.
I want five candies
because Johnny has five candies.
For Halloween
I want to be a princess
with a long pink dress
and a sparkly crown
in my hair
and maybe ballerina slippers
She pushed me
into the snow
with a real hard push
the kind of push
of a football player
mad
at the guy
carrying the football
My point: Little children speak with complex ideas. Encourage them to write with complex ideas too.
English Writing Teacher 