Complex Sentences

A sentence that contains a dependent & independent clause.

Complete Sentence

(Independent Clause)

• Subject & Predicate

• The large crowd stood in line to get the new iPhone.

• My mom, sister, and brother will be late to the party.

• The children played with their new puppy.

Dependent Clause (Opener)

• Dependent clause-Group of words with subject & Verb that depends on the MAIN clause to give it meaning

• Because she was hungry.

• As the large crowd stood in line to get the new iPhone.

• Since my mom, sister, and brother will be late to the party.

• While the children played with their new puppy.

Commas in Complex Sentences

*** Independent + dependent. --->

No Comma

*** AAAWWUBBIS + Dependent, independent clause. ---->

Comma separates clauses

After the game was over, we drove home.

We drove home after the game was over.

Subordinating Conjunctions

Compare and Contrast

When you compare two or more things, you tell how they are alike.

Example:

•  Birds and insects both fly around my backyard. 

• Mackenzie has her mother's beautiful, blond hair.

• Mindy and Olive both bought new cell phones. 

When you contrast two or more things, you tell how they are different.

Example:

• A bird has two legs, but an insect has six.

• The purple sweater is too large and the polka dot one is too small.

• Winter is much colder than summer. 

Sometimes a single sentence can compare and contrast two or more things.

Example:

• Birds and insects are both animals, but only birds are vertebrates.

• These loaves of bread are both fresh, but this one is a day older.

• Vanilla and chocolate ice cream are both delicious, but the strawberry ice cream tastes funny.