The Syntax of the Complex Sentence

A complex sentence contains a clause as one of its constitutive parts. The constituent clause is
called embedded or subordinate clause, while the containing clause is referred to as the main
clause:
1)
[That he should have been so rude to you] is really surprising.
Subject clause
John believes [that it will rain soon].
Object clause
John, [who is tall], can play basketball [whenever he likes].
Attributive clause
Adverbial Modifier
Very often distinction is made between the terms embedded and subordinate clauses
Constituent clauses that replace arguments (i.e. obligatory constituents in the clause:
Subjects, Objects or Predicatives) are called embedded clauses, while those that replace optional
constituents (Attributes, Adverbial Modifiers) are called subordinate.
Complement clauses are finite or non-finite. Finite complement clauses are introduced by
the conjunction that and have the verb in the indicative or subjunctive mood. Non-finite
complement clauses are of three types depending on the form of the verb: infinitival, gerundial and
participial (present or past).
Complementation
Complement clauses are finite or non-finite. Finite complement clauses are introduced by
the conjunction that and have the verb in the indicative or subjunctive mood. Non-finite
complement clauses are of three types depending on the form of the verb: infinitival, gerundial and
participial (present or past).
THAT complement clauses
Syntactic properties
THAT-complement clauses participate in passivisation and undergo two syntactic
movements: extraposition and heavy NP Shift.
Passivisation
Complement clauses functioning as DO with active verbs in the main clause in (a) may may be
moved into Subject position with passive verbs in (b).
2)
Everyone assumes [CP that they will get married some day].
active voice
active DO
[CP That they will get married some day] is assumed (by everyone).
passive voice
Passive Subject
It is assumed [CP that they will get married some day].
passive voice
gr. Su
logical Su
Extraposition and it-insertion
Extraposition moves a complement clause to the end of the sentence and obligatorily inserts the
expletive pronoun it in the position left empty. The inserted pronoun it is a formal subject or object,
anticipating the real extraposed Subject or Object:
3)
[CP That I knew very little about that report] is obvious.
Subject
It
is obvious
[CP that I knew very little about that report].

gr./formal/anticipatory Su

logical/ semantic/ real Su

She doesnt regret [CP that she has become a banker].

She doesnt regret it [CP that she has become a baker].
gr. DO
logical / semantic/ real DO
The complement clause may be extraposed from the subject, the direct object or the prepositional
object position, hence the following three types of extraposition:
a. Extraposition from subject position
Extraposition from subject position is obligatory with the verbs: happen, seem, appear, turn out:
4)
It seems [CP that there arent many people here today].
*[CP That there arent many people here today] seems.
b.Extraposition from DO and PO position
Extraposition from object position maintains the clause in final position and inserts it. An
Adverbial may frequently appear between the inserted pronoun and the extraposed clause:
5)
*He regrets [ that he missed the concert] [ AdvP very much].
He regrets it [AdvP very much] [ that he missed the concert].
He insisted [ that I was wrong].
He insisted on it [ that I was wrong].
gr.O
logical O
I am sure [that it is a boy].
I am sure of it [that its a boy].
Extraposition from object position is less frequent that that from Su position.
Syntactic functions of THAT clauses
THAT complement clauses have the same syntactic functions as the NPs, i.e. they can function as
Subjects, DO, PO, Attributes, Predicatives.
THAT clauses as Direct Objects
Complement clauses functions as a DO with the following types of verbs in the main clause:
1. simple transitive verbs:
a. The following simple transitive verbs take clausal DOs introduced by THAT:
admit, answer, assume, believe, claim, consider, doubt, dream, estimate, find, feel, forget,
hear, guess, imagine, gather, mean, mind, know, prove, realize, reckon, recollect,
remember, regret, see, suppose, suspect, think, understand. (verbs belonging to this group
allow THAT deletion.):
6)
I gathered [ (that) they were not expected to eat with us].
The Committee recommended [that shareholders should vote against the offer].
b. anticipate, add, allege, announce, allow, affirm, accept, assert, boast, conclude,choose,
conclude, conjecture, denote, deny, declare, disclose, discover, exclaim, establish, judge,
intend, imply, mention, order, notice, note, protest, propose, pronounce, proclaim,
presuppose, prefer, predict, recall, recognize, recommend, repeat, reply, require, settle,
state, wish:
7)
Darwin concluded [CP that men were descended from apes].

The English newspaper disclosed [CP that the treaty had been signed].
Passive can freely apply to DO complement clauses, in most cases the clausal Subject is
then extraposed:
8)
They predicted [that a seismic shock would destroy the bulding].
[That a seismic shock would destroy the building] was predicted.
It was predicted [that a seismic shock would destroy the building].
2. Ditransitive verbs take a DO expressed by a that complement clause:
9)
They suggested to us [ that it might be better to wait].
Su
IO
DO

active voice

The clausal DO may become a passive subject if the main verb is passivized:
10)
[That it might be better to wait] was suggested to us by them.
passive voice
It was suggested to us by them [ that it might be better to wait]. extraposition
Semantically, these ditransitive verbs are mostly communication verbs;
-instrumental communication verbs: radio, wire, cable, telegraph, telephone:
11)
I had radioed Nick [that the security guards were waiting].
IO
DO
-verbal communication: permit, allow, promise, guarantee, grant, swear, suggest:
12)
They guaranteed him [ that he would be given some sort of award].
IO
DO
A few of these verbs allow only a prepositional IO: admit, articulate, confess, confide, declare,
describe, demonstrate, explain, explicate, narrate, recite, repeat, report, reveal, voice, utter.
3. Prepositional transitive verbs such as blame, beg, ask, request, require, etc. are followed by a
DO and a (personal) PO. When their DO may be realized by a that complement clause, the clause
must be extraposed:
13)
Police blamed [NP the bomb attack] on the extremists.
DO
PO
*He blamed [that there had been a bomb attack] on the extremists.
DO
PO
He blamed it on the extremists [CP that there had been a bomb attack].
gr.PO
real PO
THAT clauses as Prepositional Objects
THAT clauses function as POs after verbs or adjectives with obligatory preposition:
14)
He complained [PP of unfair treatment].
He complained (*of) [CP that he had been treated unfairly].
prepositional vb.
They were sorry [PP for their failure].
They were sorry (*for) [that they had failed the exam].
prep.adj.

When the complement clause fulfills the syntactic function of PO, the preposition cannot precede
the clause, it is omitted. However, there are two contexts in which the preposition is not deleted:
when Extraposition applies and in pseudo-cleft constructions:
15)
I will answer for it [ that this man is honest].
extraposition
[What I will answer for] is [that this man is honest].
pseudo-cleft construction
Complement clauses governed by adjectives may be extraposed and may appear in pseudo-cleft
constructions:
16)
We are sure [ that its a boy].
We are sure of it [that its a boy].
extraposition
[What we are sure of ] is [ that its a boy].
pseudo-cleft construction
The complement clause fulfills the syntactic function of PO after:
1. intransitive verbs that take a PO which alternates with a THAT clause: admit (of), ask
(for), answer (for), brag (of, about), rejoice (at, over), marvel (at), see (to), testify (to),
theorize (about, on), worry (about), wonder (at, about), vote (for), swear (to).
17)
He bragged [PP about his police contacts].
He bragged [CP that he had contacts with the police].
Some of the verbs belonging to this group allow that-deletion: conceive (of), confess (to),
decide (on), insist (up (on)), hope (for), learn (of, about).
18)
They offered help as soon as they learned [PP of the accident].
They offered help as soon as they learned [CP(that) an accident had taken place].
2. There is a class of verbs that govern a DO and a PO, where the PO alternates with a
clause: advise NP of , accuse NP of, assure NP of, congratulate NP on, forewarn NP of,
instruct, NP in, inform NP of, misinform NP of, notify NP of, persuade NP of, convince NP
of, tip sb. off that, apprise NP of, warn sb. of.
19)
He convinced them of [NP his loyalty].
He convinced them [CP that he was loyal].
3. Other verbs are followed by two POs, the first is personal and the second is either a
simple NP or a clause: argue with NP about NP, agree with NP on/about NP, pray to NP
for NP, etc.
20)
I agree [PP with him] [PP about this].
I agree [PP with him] [CP that the law is behind the times].
4. Very often a THAT complement clause originates in a PP governed by an adjective. The
preposition is deleted , but it may surface if Extraposition applies, as well as in cleft
sentences: afraid (of), alarmed (at), ashamed (of), amazed (at), annoyed (at), aware (of),
angry (about), certain (of) concerned (about), confident (in), conscious (of) , desirous (of),
delighted (at), glad (about), happy (about), irritated (at), hopeful (of), indicative (of),
sorry (for), sure (of), surprised (at), thankful (for), etc.:
21)
She became conscious [PP of his tactics].
She became conscious [CP that he had changed his tactics].
THAT clauses as Subjects

That complement clauses function as Subjects with several predicate subclasses:

a. verbs like: seem, appear, happen, turn out, matter, come about, etc. that all allow
deletion of That)
22)
It seemed [(that) she had simply forgotten about the appointment].
b. adjectives take clausal Subjects: likely, unlikely, certain, uncertain, true, sure, possible,
probable, feasible, well known, etc.:
23)
It is unlikely [that you would get your own office].
c. Nouns, mostly from the same semantic area with the predicates above can also be used
in this pattern: problem, thing, fact, idea, impediment, surprise, miracle, illusion,
(no)wonder, mystery, etc.
24)
Its a wonder [that she managed to come].
d. psychological transitive verbs, i.e. verbs that take [+Human] DO with the thematic role
of EXPERIENCER: amaze, anger, annoy, astonish, baffle, boast, bore, charm, cheer,
calm, concern, delight, discourage, disgust, displease, distress, embarrass, frighten,
gratify, grieve, hurt, horrify, insult, interest, imitate, madden, please, sadden, satisfy, scare,
surprise, torment, trouble:
25)
[That a deal was reached at the summit] pleased everyone.
e. bisentential verbs: prove, show, imply, i.e. verbs that take a clause in Subject position
and another clause in Object position:
26)
[That they reached an agreement ] proves [ that they undestood the matter]
Su
DO
THAT clauses as Predicatives
That clauses may also function as predicatives in equative sentences, when the subject is a
[+abstract] NP or a clause (fact, idea, reason, claim, trouble, etc.):
27)
The trouble is [ that it is getting a bit expensive now].
My feeling is [ that it would work very well].
THAT clauses as Attributes
THAT clauses function as attributes for abstract nouns (fact, evidence, feeling) in the main clause:
28)
We saw evidence [ that a real effort was being made to promote tourism].
I had a feeling [ that he was right].
Attributive clauses may be shifted to the end of the main clause by means of Extraction from the
NP:
29)
We possessed [NPan intoxicating sense [CPthat at last we were treating on equal terms]].
[NPAn intoxicating sense] possessed we [CP that at last we were treating on equal terms].
The complementiser that
The complementiser that is traditionally considered a subordinating conjunction. That is a
purely syntactic word showing embedding. Unlike other subordinating conjunctions (though, if)
that has virtually no meaning, occasionally being deleted.

Omission of that is typical of relaxed speech, informal English. It makes no difference to

the meaning of the sentence whether that is present or not:
30)
It is obvious that he did it.
It is obvious __ he did it.
Deletion is more acceptable when the verb, adjective or noun that governs the complement clause
is frequently used (know, think, cool, message) i.e. is typical of spoken language:
31)
He knows that I like it.
He knows __ I like it.
We got the message that they were coming.
We got the message __ they were coming.
Deletion may occur when the complement clause immediately follows the governing predicate:
32)
They maintain they are not responsible.
Deletion does not take place when the complement clause is separated from the governing element
by some intervening material:
33)
a. They maintain, you want me to believe, that they were not responsible.
*They maintain, you want me to believe, __ they were not responsible.