Lesson 48: Complex sentences

Abstract

In the last lesson, we talked about compound sentences such as: Beth said hello to her mother's friend and then she walked outside . Each of the sentences (clauses) that is part of the compound sentence plays an equal role in the sentence; one clause is not superior to or more important than the other, in terms of the structure of the sentence. Now let's look at some other sentences: 2. Harry was only fifteen when his mother sent him away to school. 3. Mr. Edwards looked her straight in the eye although he wasn't really sincere. 4. I won't tell you the answer unless you agree to help. Sentences 2–4 also each contain two sentences, or clauses, which are combined to make a larger sentence. However, one of these sentences is more important than the other. The more important sentence is called the main clause , or independent clause ; the less important sentence, the one that is a subpart of the main clause, is called the dependent clause or subordinate clause (see Lesson 19). Each clause, whether it's a main clause or subordinate clause, has its own subject and verb phrase. Sentences that contain a main clause and at least one dependent clause are called complex sentences .