o understand a compound complex sentence, let's review compound sentences and complex sentences.

A compound sentence is made of two simple sentences joined by a conjunction.

A complex sentence is made of a simple sentence and a dependent, or subordinate, clause (has a subject and a verb but does not express a complete thought.

So, a compound complex sentence is made up of more than one sentence joined by a conjunction, and at least one of those sentence is complex. In other words, it is a compound sentence with a dependent, or subordinate clause.

Examples of Compound Complex Sentences:

In these examples, the dependent, or subordinate, clause is underlined.

1. When I grow up, I want to be a ballerina, and my mom is proud of me.

2. I will get to watch television, but first, I have to clean up the dishes after we finish eating.

3. We won the game, but my uniform was muddy because it rained the entire time.

4. After our trip to the beach, school started back, and I was excited to see my friends.

5. Sarah cried when her cat got sick, but he soon got better.

6. The sun is shining through the clouds, so I think that we can go swimming.

Please go to Study Sync to Practice

Complex sentences follow two common patterns:

Main Clause + Ø + Subordinate Clause.

Nicky shook her head and sighed Ø as she puzzled over the algebra problem.

Subordinate Clause + , + Main Clause.

When the doorbell rang, Nicky slammed shut her textbook and rose to pay for her pizza.

Punctuation gets trickier when the subordinate clause begins with a relative pronoun like who, which, or where. Sometimes you will need a comma, and sometimes you won't, depending on whether the clause is essential or nonessential.

A compound sentence refers to a sentence made up of two independent clauses (or complete sentences) connected to one another with a coordinating conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember if you think of the words "FAN BOYS":

• For
• And
• Nor
• But
• Or
• Yet
• So

Examples of compound sentences include the following:

1. Joe waited for the train, but the train was late.
2. I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station, but they arrived at the station before noon and left on the bus before I arrived.
3. Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon, and they left on the bus before I arrived.
4. Mary and Samantha left on the bus before I arrived, so I did not see them at the bus station.

When you attach a subordinate clause in front of a main clause, use a comma, like this:

Subordinate Clause + , + Main Clause.

Even though the broccoli was covered in cheddar cheese, Emily refused to eat it.

Unless Christine finishes her calculus homework, she will have to suffer Mr. Nguyen's wrath in class tomorrow.

While Bailey slept on the sofa in front of the television, Samson, the family dog, gnawed on the leg of the coffee table.

When you attach a subordinate clause at the end of a main clause, you will generally use no punctuation, like this:

Main Clause + Ø + Subordinate Clause.

Tanya did poorly on her history exam Ø because her best friend Giselle insisted on gossiping during their study session the night before.

Jonathon spent his class time reading comic books Ø since his average was a 45 one week before final exams.

Diane decided to plant tomatoes in the back of the yard Ø where the sun blazed the longest during the day.

Practice Here!

Remember this important point: A subordinate clause cannot stand alone as a sentence because it does not provide a complete thought. The reader is left wondering, "So what happened?" A word group that begins with a capital letter and ends with a period must contain at least one main clause. Otherwise, you will have written a fragment, a major error.

After Amy sneezed all over the tuna salad.

So what happened? Did Amy throw it down the garbage disposal or serve it on toast to her friends? No complete thought = fragment.

Once Adam smashed the spider.

So what happened? Did Belinda cheer him for his bravery or lecture him on animal rights? No complete thought = fragment.

Until Mr. Sanchez has his first cup of coffee.

So what happens? Is he too sleepy to work, or does he have a grumpy disposition? No complete thought = fragment.

Who ate handfuls of Cheerios with his bare hands.

So what happened? Were the roommates shocked, or did they ask him to pass the box so that they could do the same? No complete thought = fragment.

Practice here!

And, but, for, nor, or, so, and yet—these are the seven coordinating conjunctions. To remember all seven, you might want to learn one of these acronyms: FANBOYS,YAFNOBS, or FONYBAS.

Coordinating conjunctions connect words, phrases, and clauses. Look at the examples that follow:

The bowl of squid eyeball stew is hot and delicious.

The squid eyeball stew is so thick that you can eat it with a fork or spoon.

Rocky, my orange tomcat, loves having his head scratched but hates getting his claws trimmed.

Rocky terrorizes the poodles next door yet adores the German shepherd across the street.

Rocky refuses to eat dry cat food, nor will he touch a saucer of squid eyeball stew.

I hate to waste a single drop of squid eyeball stew, for it is expensive and time-consuming to make.

Linking verbs do not express action. Instead, they connect the subject of the verb to additional information about the subject. Look at the examples below:

• Keila is a shopaholic.

Ising isn't something that Keila can do. Is connects the subject, Keila, to additional information about her, that she will soon have a huge credit card bill to pay.

• During the afternoon, my cats are content to nap on the couch.

Areing isn't something that cats can do. Are is connecting the subject, cats, to something said about them, that they enjoy sleeping on the furniture.

The following verbs are true linking verbs: any form of the verb be [am, is, are, was, were, has been, are being, might have been, etc.], become, and seem. These true linking verbs are always linking verbs.

Then you have a list of verbs with multiple personalities: appear, feel, grow, look,prove, remain, smell, sound, taste, and turn. Sometimes these verbs are linking verbs; sometimes they are action verbs.

How do you tell when they are action verbs and when they are linking verbs?

If you can substitute am, is, or are and the sentence still sounds logical, you have a linking verb on your hands.

Visit Studysync to find your assignment!

Verbs are a necessary component of all sentences. Verbs have two important functions: Some verbs put stalled subjects into motion while other verbs help to clarify the subjects in meaningful ways. Look at the examples below:

My grumpy old English teacher smiled at the plate of cold meatloaf.

My grumpy old English teacher = stalled subject; smiled = verb.

The daredevil cockroach splashed into Sara's soup.

The daredevil cockroach = stalled subject; splashed = verb.

Theo's overworked computer exploded in a spray of sparks.

Theo's overworked computer = stalled subject; exploded = verb.

The curious toddler popped a grasshopper into her mouth.

The curious toddler = stalled subject; popped = verb.

Francisco's comic book collection is worth $20,000.00.

Francisco's comic book collection = stalled subject; is = verb.

The important thing to remember is that every subject in a sentence must have a verb. Otherwise, you will have written a fragment, a major writing error.

At the minimum, a prepositional phrase will begin with a preposition and end with a noun, pronoun, gerund, or clause, the "object" of the preposition.

The object of the preposition will often have one or more modifiers to describe it. These are the patterns for a prepositional phrase:

Preposition + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

Preposition + Modifier(s) + Noun, Pronoun, Gerund, or Clause

----------- - ----------- - ----------- - ----------- -

Examples:

From my grandmother

From = preposition; my = modifier; grandmother = noun.

Under the warm blanket

Under = preposition; the, warm = modifiers; blanket = noun.

In a sentence, every verb must have a subject. If the verb expresses action—like sneeze, jump, bark, or study—the subject is who or what does the verb. Take a look at this example:

During his biology lab, Tommy danced on the table.

Danced is an action verb. Tommy is who did the dancing. Look at the next example:

The speeding hotrod crashed into a telephone pole.

Crashed is the action verb. The hotrod is what did the crashing.