complex sentence

English

Noun
Examples
  • These are not the droids that you are looking for.
  • The dog came when she was called.
  • He said that he would do it tomorrow.

complex sentence (plural complex sentences)

  1. (grammar) A sentence that contains an independent clause as well as one or more dependent clauses, such as a relative clause, an adverbial clause, or a noun clause.
  2. (linguistics) A sentence that contains multiple clauses, whether independent (coordinated) or dependent (subordinated); compound or complex sentence.
    Synonym: composite sentence
    • 1830, Alexander Crombie, Etymology and Syntax of the English Language, page 226:
      Sentences are either simple or complex. […] A complex sentence consists of two or more members, as, “Alexander, when he had conquered the world, is said to have wept, because there were not other worlds to subdue.” […] When a member of a complex sentence is simple, it is called indifferently a member, or a clause; as, “I have called; but ye have refused.”
    • 2004, Holger Diessel, The Acquisition of Complex Sentences, page 42:
      Complex sentences are traditionally divided into two basic types: (i) sentences including co-ordinate clauses, and (ii) sentences including subordinate clauses.
    • 2008, Ronald W. Langacker, Cognitive Grammar: A Basic Introduction, pages 406, 412:
      A sentence consisting of more than one clause is said to be complex. […] There are many ways of combining clauses to form a complex sentence. Coordinate constructions represent the special case of symmetry, parallelism, and coequality among the component clauses. More typically, these properties are lacking by virtue of one clause being subordinated to another.

Coordinate terms

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Further reading
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