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Grammar and StructureGRAMMAR & STRUCTURE
Complex Sentences

  
 

Definition

A complex sentence is a sentence that has two parts:

  • a main subject (S) — verb (V) part (called an independent clause), and
  • a second subject (S) — verb (V) part, (called a dependent clause).


Example

The

 students

 ate 

lunch at the beach

 

S

V

 

+

because

 it 

was 

a beautiful day.

 

S

V

 

independent clause

 

dependent clause
 

The students ate lunch at the beach because it was a beautiful day.

complex sentence with two parts

Explanation

A complex sentence:

  • joins an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses together in one sentence.
  • has subject and verb agreement.
  • has verb tense agreement to show the same time.
  • can use different verb tenses to show different times.
  • uses a subordinate conjunction to join the clauses together. Subordinate conjunctions are linking words such as "although", "while", "if", "because".
  • can place the dependent clause inside the independent clause.
  • has specific punctuation rules, for example: use a comma after a dependent clause.


Related Sections

Commonly Used Punctuation