Mastering Complex Sentences: Essential Writing Tips

1. Complex Sentences

2. Stuff You Should Already Know • A simple sentence is a sentence with one subject (who/what that does something) and one predicate (what the subject does). • Ex: Barry ate a taco. / subject predicate

3. Stuff You Should Already Know • A conjunction is a part of speech that connects words, phrases, clauses, or sentences. • The seven most common conjunctions are: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, & so. • You can easily remember these by using the acronym F.A.N. B.O.Y.S.

4. Stuff You Should Already Know • A compound sentence is sentence of two or more simple sentences joined by a conjunction. • Ex: • Bart hit the teacher, but he didn’t know. • Remember: A compound sentence will have a subject and predicate on both sides of the conjunction.

5. What You Will Need to Know for Today’s Lesson • When something is independent, it does not require any help to exist. Ex: Mr. Leos Your Teachers

6. What You Will Need to Know for Today’s Lesson • When something is dependent, it requires the help of something else in order to survive. Ex: Babies You

7. What You Will Need to Know for Today • A clause is a group of words working together. Ex: He ate pizza. (independent clause) While you were sleeping…(dependent clause)

8. Most Important Thing to Know • A complex sentence is an independent clause with one or more dependent clauses. He jumped in the air while he whistled. After the dance, he collapsed. _____________________   Ind. Clause Dep.Clause   Dep.Clause Ind. Clause

9. Important Tips to Find Complex Sentences • If the dependent clause begins the sentence, it will end with a comma. If the complex sentence doesn’t have a comma, the independent clause will end the sentence. • If you’re not sure if a sentence ends with a dependent clause, place it in front of the independent clause. Ask yourself, “Does it make sense this way?” If it does, you’ve found the dependent clause. • Dependent clauses NEVER begin with conjunctions! • The equation for a complex sentence is this: DC + IC = Complex Sentence

10. Important Tips to Find Complex Sentences • Subordinating Conjunctions are words added to the beginning of a dependent clauses. • Some common dependent markers are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, & while.

11. Create a chart like the one below: Dependent Clause Independent Clause

12. Using the chart, separate each sentence into dependent and independent clauses. • Before school, Joe ate breakfast. • Because I can sing, I will be famous. • I will watch T.V. while you cook dinner. • She can’t concentrate because she’s nervous. • If you can’t see it, he can’t see it.

13. Now, number your paper 1-5 and turn these simple sentences into complex sentences by adding a dependent clause to the beginning or end of each sentence. • She ran quickly_________. • ____________,he tore his hamstring. • Jack can’t sing__________. • ____________,Israel ate a bug. • The team lost___________.

14. Which of the following sentences is a complex sentence? Jose can’t sing while she listens. She ate sandwiches. He sat and she listened. Jack and Jill ran up the hill to the well. What is a complex sentence? An independent clause with one or more dependent clauses An independent clause with one or more independent clauses A sentence with one subject and one predicate Two simple sentences connected by a conjunction Closing Questions