Introduction

Sentences may be described as of three structural types: simple sentences consist of a single clause (or group, or word) which constitutes the whole utterance; compound sentences consist of more than one clause in a juxtaposed or linked relationship; complex sentences consist of more than one clause in a dependence relationship. For example, from the text (numbers in brackets refer to the number of the utterance on the tape): Simple sentences:

1. Ehe. (3) (I simple word) 'Alright.' 2. Siku saba. (622) (I group) 'Seven days.' 3. Atakufa. (628) (1 compound word) 'She will die.' 4. Riziki anampa mtu mahala po pote alipo. (306) (1 clause)

'He (God) gives man sustenance wherever he may be.' Compound sentences (II marks clause boundary):

5. Amekaa kwenye kiti chake cha minyaa, II kimesukwa kwa minyaa. (315) (clauses juxtaposed). 'He was sitting in his wicker chair, it was woven of palm leaves.'