One independent clause is a simple sentence. When we join two independent clauses together in one sentence, we get a compound sentence.
Here are two independent clauses:
Mary rode her bike to school.
John drove to school with his mom.
We can join these two independent clauses into one sentence, like this:
Mary rode her bike to school, and John drove to school with his mom.
Mary rode her bike to school, but John drove to school with his mom.
We used a comma and a coordinating conjunction to join the two independent clauses into one sentence.
We an also join two independent clauses together into one sentence with a semicolon, like this:
Mary rode her bike to school; John drove to school with his mom.
Two independent clauses joined together into one sentence make a compound sentence.
It’s your turn. Join these two independent clauses into one sentence. Use the coordinating conjunction and or a semicolon. Jimmy has a pet cat. Susie has a pet dog. Did you figure out how to make these two clauses into a compound sentence? Good for you!