complex sentences

Question 1

types of dependent clauses: overview

Answer 1

1. that-clauses (nominal vs. attributive)
2. indirect questions/ wh-interrogative clauses (nominal vs. attributive)
3. relative clauses
   => adverbial/sentential
   => nominal (introduced by generalising relative pronouns or determiners)
   => attributive (defining vs. non-defining)
4. adverbial clauses
   => of time, manner, place, …

Question 2

subordinate clauses are introduced by…

Answer 2

subordinators
Simple subordinators are single words which introduce subordinate clauses, e.g. after, although, if, when, wherever, because, if, since…
Complex subordinators consist of multiple words, e.g. in case that…

Question 3

coordinated clauses are typically connected by…

Answer 3

coordinating conjunctions:
and, but, or

Question 4

what’s this phenomenon called?

Susan, a friend of mine, has just moved to London.
Her answer, that she had forgotten to set her alarm clock, was not a convincing excuse.

Answer 4

apposition = placing of elements with identical reference (i.e. both refer to the same thing) next to each other

Susan = friend of mine
answer = that she had forgotten…

Question 5

adverbial clauses are…

Answer 5

…dependent clauses which function as adverbials;
normally begin with a conjunction (subordinator)

e.g. conditional sentences = adverbial clause of condition

we don’t need to specify further than
FU A
FO adverbial clause

Question 6

features and types of indirect questions /wh-interrogative clauses

Answer 6

• They begin with an interrogative pronoun or with the conjunctions whether / if (‘ob’).
• They have the same word order as statements.
• They obey the rules for the use of tenses in reported speech.
• They are not marked off by commas from the main clause.

types:
- nominal (=> subord. clause): What to do on New Year’s Eve has not yet been decided
- attributive (=> embedded cl.): We weren’t given any information about when the train would arrive.

Question 7

types of that-clauses

Answer 7

• nominal (≙ NP; subord. clause)
  That one British child in four is born into poverty (S; “this”) is (V) a disgrace (Cs)
• attributive (= attributes to abstract nouns; embedded cl.)
  The fact that English is relatively easy to learn (S) makes (V) it (Odir) suitable as a world language (Co)

Question 8

types of relative clauses

Answer 8

• attributive => embedded
• nominal => subord. clause
• adverbial/sentential => FU: A, marked off by commas

Question 9

attributive relative clauses: types

Answer 9

defining relative clause
“This is the problem which we’re having at the moment.

• specify what is meant by the antecedent
• necessary for the correct understanding
• no pauses/commas

non-defining relative clause
There’s Portugal, there’s Las Palmas, which is one of the Canary Islands, and there’s Rhodes.

• contain extra explanatory information which is not necessary for the understanding of the whole sentence
• cannot begin with that
• relative pronoun cannot be left out
• marked off by pauses/commas

Question 10

zero relative pronoun

Answer 10

Provided the relative pronoun is not the subject of the defining relative clause … a further option exists in relative clause structure of having no relative pronoun at all: the clause with ‘zero’ (Ø) relative pronoun

e.g. This is the problem that/which/Ø we’re having at the moment. (S of rel. cl. = we, not that/which)

Question 11

relative pronouns vs relative adverbs

Answer 11

• Use relative pronouns when focusing on “who,” “what,” or “whose” something is => refer to nouns/pronouns
• Use relative adverbs when answering “where,” “when,” or “why.” => refer to time/place/reason; often replace prep. + rel. pron. (the house where… = the house in which…)

Question 12

nominal relative clauses

Answer 12

…have no antecedent in the main (or other subordinate) clause, but contain it within themselves. Within a complex sentence, they function like noun phrases (e.g. subject, object)

• with generalising rel. pronouns:
  Whoever told you that (S) was wrong. (=That person who)
  I don’t know what happened (Odir). (that which happened.)
• with generalising rel. determiners:
  Whatever people were out on the streets hurried silently home.
  You can rely on whichever way you take

Question 13

sentential/adverbial relative clauses

Answer 13

sentence commening adverbials, marked off by commas

e.g. He’s always late, which is his own fault. And what is more to the point, he does not even seem to care.