Complex sentence

A complex sentence is a sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Examples

• I ate the meal that you cooked. (I ate the meal is an independent clause and that you cooked is a relative clause.)
• I enjoyed the apple pie that you bought for me. (I enjoyed the apple pie is an independent clause and that you bought for me is a relative clause.)
• I ate breakfast before I went to work. (I ate breakfast is an independent clause, and before I went to work is a dependent clause, meaning it cannot stand alone as a sentence.)

Examples of sentences that have more than one clause but are not complex sentences include the following:

• I was scared, but I didn't run away. (Both clauses are independent. Therefore, this is a compound sentence but not a complex sentence.)
• The dog that you gave me barked at me, and it bit my hand. (This is a compound-complex sentence with two independent clauses [The dog barked at me and It bit my hand] and one dependent clause [that you gave me].)

See also

• Simple sentence
• Compound sentence
• Complex-compound sentence

External links

• MLA Guide
• The Structure of a Sentence
• Complex Sentences: Subordinate Clauses as Adverb Clauses

This linguistics article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: Syntactic entities Sentences by type Linguistics stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат King crab Fernão Look at other dictionaries: complex sentence — n. Gram. a sentence consisting of an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses (Ex.: He eats fish when he goes to a restaurant) …   English World dictionary complex sentence — sentence which contains both an independent and a dependent clause …   English contemporary dictionary complex sentence — noun a sentence composed of at least one main clause and one subordinate clause • Hypernyms: ↑sentence • Hyponyms: ↑loose sentence, ↑periodic sentence • Part Meronyms: ↑main clause, ↑independent clause, ↑ …   Useful english dictionary complex sentence — a sentence containing one or more dependent clauses in addition to the main clause, as When the bell rings (dependent clause), walk out (main clause). [1880 85] * * * …   Universalium complex sentence — noun a sentence that contains an independent clause as well as one or more dependent clauses, joined by a sub ordinating conjunction such as however …   Wiktionary complex sentence — noun a sentence containing a subordinate clause or clauses …   English new terms dictionary complex sentence — com′plex sen′tence n. gram. a sentence containing one or more dependent clauses in addition to the main clause, as When the bell rings (dependent clause), walk out (main clause) • Etymology: 1880–85 …   From formal English to slang complex sentence — /kɒmplɛks ˈsɛntəns/ (say kompleks sentuhns) noun a sentence containing one or more dependent clauses in addition to the main clause. For example: When the clock strikes (dependent clause), it will be three o clock (main clause) …   sentence — 1. Many users of this book will have been taught that a sentence is a group of words that makes complete sense, contains a main verb, and when written begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (or a question mark if it is a question… …   Modern English usage compound-complex sentence — /kom pownd kom pleks/ a sentence having two or more coordinate independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses, as The lightning flashed (independent clause) and the rain fell (independent clause) as he entered the house (dependent clause) …   Universalium 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”