Complex Sentence
A Complex Sentence is a sentence with one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
- Context:
- It can range from being a Complex Compound Sentence to being a ...
- Example(s):
- "Jane rushed home when she heard about the accident"
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Linguistic Clause, Subject Complement, Subordinating Conjunction, Adverbial Clause.
References
2016
- (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sentence_clause_structure#Complex_and_Compound-Complex_sentences Retrieved:2016-5-20.
- A Complex sentence has one or more Dependent clauses (also called subordinate clauses). Since a dependent clause cannot stand on its own as a sentence, complex sentences must also have at least one independent clause. A sentence with two or more independent clauses plus one or more dependent clauses is called compound-complex or complex-compound.
In addition to a subject and a verb, dependent clauses contain a subordinating conjunction or similar word. There are a large number of subordinating conjunctions in English. Some of these give the clause an adverbial function, specifying time, place, or manner. Such clauses are called adverbial clauses.
- When I stepped out into the bright sunlight, from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind. (S. E. Hinton, The Outsiders)
- This complex sentence contains an adverbial clause, When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house. The adverbial clause describes when the action of the main clause, I had only two things on my mind, took place.
A relative clause is a dependent clause that modifies a noun or noun phrase in the independent clause. In other words, the relative clause functions similar to an adjective.
- Let him who has been deceived complain. (Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote)
- You, who have never known your family, see them standing around you. (J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
- In the first example, the restrictive relative clause who has been deceived specifies or defines the meaning of him in the independent clause, Let him complain. In the second example, the non-restrictive relative clause who have never known your family describes you in the independent clause, You see them standing around you.
A noun clause is a dependent clause that functions like a noun. A noun clause may function as the subject of a clause, or as a predicate nominative or an object.
- What she had realised was that love was that moment when your heart was about to burst. (Stieg Larsson, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)
- In this sentence the independent clause contains two noun clauses. The noun clause What she had realized serves as the subject of the verb was, and that love was that moment serves as complement. The sentence also contains an adverbial clause, when your heart was about to burst.
- A Complex sentence has one or more Dependent clauses (also called subordinate clauses). Since a dependent clause cannot stand on its own as a sentence, complex sentences must also have at least one independent clause. A sentence with two or more independent clauses plus one or more dependent clauses is called compound-complex or complex-compound.
2009
- (Wikipedia, 2009) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_(linguistics)
- One traditional scheme for classifying English sentences is by the number and types of finite clauses:
- A complex sentence consists of one or more independent clauses with at least one dependent clause.
- A complex-compound sentence (or compound-complex sentence) consists of multiple independent clauses, at least one of which has at least one dependent clause.
- One traditional scheme for classifying English sentences is by the number and types of finite clauses:
- (Wikipedia, 2009) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Complex_sentence
- A complex sentence is a sentence with an independent clause and at least one dependent clause (subordinating clause). The dependent clause is introduced by either a subordinate conjunction such as although, or because or a relative pronoun such as who or which.