What distinguishes a compound sentence?

A compound sentence is characterized by the presence of two independent clauses that are connected by a coordinating conjunction. Independent clauses are complete thoughts that can stand alone as sentences. The use of a coordinator such as "and," "but," "or," "nor," "for," "so," or "yet" is crucial because it indicates the relationship between the two clauses, whether they are contrasting, adding information, or presenting alternatives.

For example, in the sentence "I wanted to go for a walk, but it started raining," both "I wanted to go for a walk" and "it started raining" are independent clauses that can exist separately; the conjunction "but" links them to reflect a contrast. This structure allows a compound sentence to express more complex ideas and relationships between different actions or thoughts, enhancing the richness of communication. Thus, the defining feature of a compound sentence lies in the combination of two independent clauses with a coordinating conjunction.