Complex Sentences (1)
A complex sentence is a sentence that has at least one subordinate clause. (A subordinate clause is a clause on the bottom level of a sentence).
Compare the following sentences:
Simple Sentence = one clause on the top level.
I ate pizza. |
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Compound Sentence = two clauses on the top level. In the following example, the clauses are connected by a fanboy.
I ate pizza, |
and Bob ate spaghetti. |
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The clauses could also be connected by a semicolon.
I ate pizza; |
Bob ate spaghetti. |
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Hybrid Sentence = two clauses on the top level—but the subject of the second clause has been omitted.
I brushed my teeth |
and went to bed. |
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The subject of the second clause is implied; therefore, you could also picture a hybrid sentence like this:
I brushed my teeth |
and [I] went to bed. |
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Complex Sentence = at least one clause on the bottom level. In the following example, the main clause comes first, followed by the subordinate clause.
I ate pizza |
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because I was hungry. |
The subordinate clause could also come first, followed by the main clause.
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I ate pizza. |
Because I was hungry, |
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Instructions for the Quiz
Determine the type of sentence.
Note: You can ignore the final option (compound-complex), as we have not yet studied that sentence pattern.
- simple
- compound
- hybrid
- complex
compound-complex