Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Complex Sentences
What is a complex sentence?
A complex sentence is made up of one independent
clause and one or more dependent clauses.
I recommend you buy the vehicle [that has the least impact on the
environment].
You’ll never understand the experience of being homeless [unless you live
through it].
Q: If all clauses have subjects and verbs,
what makes a clause “dependent”?
I recommend you buy the vehicle [that has the least impact
on the environment].
1. I aced my art history exam. I studied for three hours last night.
1. Dorothea baked the cupcakes. They were moist and delicious.
1. I have a picture of my mother wearing jeans. The jeans have frayed hems
and many holes.
I have a picture of my mother wearing jeans that have frayed hems and many holes.
1. In the 1950’s, jeans became popular with teenagers. The teenagers
thought that they were were cool.
In the 1950’s, jeans became popular with teenagers, who thought that they were cool.
Who vs. That & Which
Rule 1. Who refers to people. That and which refer to
groups or things.
Examples:
The letter to the editor that Anita wrote was published in the
local newspaper.
In contrast, use commas when the dependent clause gives
information that is not essential to the sentence:
The letter, which is on the topic of school funding, is still in my
backpack.
The letter is still in my backpack, which is stuffed with books,
binders, and notebooks.
Any Questions?