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Complex and compound sentences |
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A complex or compound sentence consists of two or more clauses. A simple sentence contains one central verb, the predicate. The predicate determines which other constituents can or must be present in the sentence. When two or more of these simple sentences are combined, they are the clauses of a complex or compound sentence.
Clauses are combined to form a sentence either by coordination or by subordination:
| coordination: |
main clause + main clause |
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compound sentence |
| subordination: |
main clause + subordinate clause |
= |
complex sentence |
Coordination is the combination of two or more independent main clauses into a compound clause. Subordination is the combination of an independent main clause and one or more dependent, subordinate clauses into a complex clause.
| coordination: |
Ich gehe weg und du bleibst zu Hause. |
| subordination: |
Ich gehe weg, während du zu Haus bleibst. |
Subordinate clauses are dependent on a main clause. They can be classified according to their form:
| Subordinate clause with introductory word |
Er sagt, dass er sofort kommt. |
| Unintroduced subordinate clause |
Er sagt, er komme sofort. |
| Infinitive clause |
Ich bitte dich, sofort zu kommen. |
| Participle clause |
In Paris angekommen, fuhren wir zum Hotel. |
Subordinate clauses with an introductory word are introduced by a subordinating conjunction (dass, ob, weil, während, obwohl, etc.) or by a relative pronoun (der/die/das, welcher). Unintroduced subordinate clauses are subordinated to the main clause without being introduced by an introductory word. Infinitive clauses and participle clauses are a particular kind of subordinate clauses.
Subordinate clauses can also be classified according to their function in the sentence:
| Subject clause |
Dass ihr hier seid, freut uns sehr. |
| Object clause |
Ich weiß nicht, ob du Recht hast. |
| Adverbial clause |
Wir fahren weg, wenn es hell wird. |
| Attribute clause |
Hunde, die bellen, beißen nicht. |
| Predicative clause |
Alles bleibt, wie es ist. |
| Sentential relative clause |
Es geht ihr gut, worüber wir uns freuen. |
A subject clause functions as the subject of the sentence, an object clause functions as the object of the sentence, an adverbial clause functions as an adverbial of the sentence, etc.
Complex and compound sentences are described under the following topics:
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