Sentence clause structure
In traditional grammar, sentences may be classified in terms of clause structure. A simple sentence consists of only one clause. A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses. A complex sentence has at least one independent clause plus at least one dependent clause.[1]
A sentence consisting of one or more dependent clauses plus two or more independent clauses may be called a complex-compound sentence or compound-complex sentence.[2]
Sentence 1 is an example of a simple sentence. Sentence 2 is compound, while sentence 3 is complex. Sentence 4 is compound-complex (also known as complex-compound).
- I like apple pie.
- I don't know how to bake, so I buy my sweets.
- I enjoyed the apple pie that you bought for me.
- The dog lived in the garden, but the cat, which was smarter, lived inside the house.
The simple sentence in example 1 contains one clause. Example two has two clauses (I don't know how to bake and I buy my sweets), combined into a single sentence with the coordinating conjunction so. In example 3, I enjoyed the apple pie is an independent clause, and that you bought for me is a dependent clause; the sentence is thus complex. In sentence 4, The dog lived in the garden and the cat lived inside the house are both independent clauses; which was smarter is a dependent clause.
References
- ^ Huddleston, Rodney (1984). Introduction to the Grammar of English. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-29704-2.
- ^ "The Compound-Complex Sentence" (PDF).
External links
- "Sentence Types". Online Writing Lab. Purdue University. 1995. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- Campos Noguera, José Manuel. "Complex sentences". English Post: English Language Learning and Teaching. Retrieved 2 February 2014.
- "Forming Complex Sentences with Subordinating Conjunctions" (PDF).
- "Independent and Dependent Clauses" (PDF).