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Compound-complex Sentences in English

Last updated on July 31, 2019 by in English Grammar Lessons with Videos Category with 16 Comments on Compound-complex Sentences in English, 69 Views and Reading Time: 3 minutes

Compound-complex sentences in English

Compound-complex sentences in English

Simple sentence

A simple sentence includes one independent or main clause. Furthermore, the meaning of a simple sentence is complete by itself.

These days, computers are used for a variety of purposes.

Compound sentence

A compound sentence consists of two independent or main clauses connected to each other with a coordinating conjunction.

I am into immigration to developed countries; however, there exist a plethora of problems during this journey.

Coordinating conjunctions

To remember all of the coordinating conjunctions in English, you might use this acronym (FANBOYS):

  • F: for
  • A: and
  • N: nor
  • B: but
  • O: or
  • Y: yet
  • S: so

Complex sentence 

A complex sentence has one dependent and one independent clause linked to each other with a subordinating conjunction.

Despite all difficulties, some people fast during Ramadan.

Subordinating conjunctions

Subordinating conjunctions in English serve a variety of functions, hence there exist many subordinating conjunctions. Keep in mind that any clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction is a dependent clause. The following are some of the most common subordinating conjunctions in English:

  • After
  • Although
  • As
  • Because
  • Before
  • If
  • Once
  • Since
  • So that
  • Until
  • When

It’s important to note that a dependent clause cannot stand alone semantically. It means that it requires an independent clause to complete its meaning.

To see the complete list of coordinating, subordinating and correlative conjunctions in the English language along with various examples, click here.

Compound-complex sentence

A compound-complex sentence, as its name indicates, should have at least two independent clauses (i.e., compound sentence) and one dependent clause. Please note that an adjective clause is not a major part of any sentence and it can be omitted. Pay attention to the following example of a compound-complex sentence.

Although Robert was a monolingual, he moved to Canada and he tried to learn both English and French because it was essential for him to speak both of the languages.

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16 comments on “Compound-complex Sentences in English”

      • This is not a compound-complex sentence. It’s actually a compound sentence consisting of two independent clauses. A compound-complex sentence, as its name indicates, should have at least two independent clauses (i.e., compound sentence) and one dependent clause. In your example, you’ve used an adjective clause, which is not a dependent clause. Please note that an adjective clause is not a major part of any sentence and it can be omitted. Pay attention to the following example of a compound-complex sentence:
        Although Robert was a monolingual, he moved to Canada and he tried to learn both English and French because it was essential for him to speak both of the languages.

    • Although, it seems easy to make an example of compound-complex sentence, it requires to know both the compound sentence and the complex sentence properly before you want to start writing.

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