A complex sentence has a dependent clause and an independent clause, while a simple sentence has no dependent clause. An independent clause is a complete sentence, while a dependent clause needs something to complete it. The order of clauses doesn’t affect complexity.
A complex sentence is one in English that includes, at a minimum, a dependent clause and an independent clause. The dependent clause, also known as a subordinate clause, is connected by a relative pronoun or a subordinate conjunction. The complex sentence can be contrasted with a simple sentence, which has no dependent clause. Other types of sentences include the compound sentence, which must have at least two independent clauses, and the compound sentence, which must have at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
An independent clause, one of the two critical parts of a complex sentence, is itself a simple sentence. It is a proposition that is complete in and of itself, with a subject and a predicate. For example, the sentence, I like writing letters, is an independent clause. Two independent clauses can be linked together to form a compound sentence, as in, I like writing letters and she definitely likes tango. In the compound sentence, two single sentences, I like to write letters. and she certainly likes the tango. are connected via a coordinating conjunction, e.
A dependent clause can also be known as a subordinate clause or an embedded clause and is a clause that cannot grammatically stand alone. It should be noted that strictly speaking a subordinate clause should refer only to a dependent adverbial clause. A dependent clause, unlike an independent clause, isn’t complete on its own: it needs something to complete it. For example, the lei clause She is isn’t really complete on its own, even if it contains a subject and a predicate. To be complete, we could add a subordinating conjunction, like anyone, and link it to an independent clause. For example, the phrase Whoever she is, she definitely likes tango. is a complete complex sentence.
Aside from the simple subordinate conjunction example above, many different structures can form the complex sentence. For example, the dependent clause can serve as the subject in a complex sentence. Look at the dependent clause, how you live, which cannot stand alone. Then look at the independent clause. Good work makes a difference. In this independent clause, the subject, a good job can be replaced with many different subjects, giving us sentences like: Money makes a difference. o The first kiss makes all the difference. We can also replace the subject with our previous dependent clause, giving us the complex sentence: how you live makes a difference.
A complex sentence can also include an independent clause that has been split from a dependent clause. For example, the sentence The chair is old. it is an independent clause. The clause where John is sitting is a dependent clause, unable to sit on its own. Using a subordinator, we can place our dependent clause in the middle of our independent clause to create a complex sentence, creating: The chair John is sitting in is old.
It should be noted that the order in which dependent and independent clauses occur has no bearing on whether the sentence is complex or not, or whether the clause is independent or dependent. For example, the sentence, After the rain finally stopped, we went to the beach. is a complex sentence in which the dependent clause comes first and the independent clause comes second. That same sentence can be flipped over to form, we went to the beach after the rain finally stopped, without changing the meaning of the sentence at all, or how the two clauses relate to each other.
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