Building complex sentences
Combine ideas into varied, complex sentences — subordination, embedding and sentence variety — for better writing.
In this lesson you will
- Combine simple sentences with subordination
- Embed information with relative and participle clauses
- Vary sentence length and structure
Learn
Subordinating words make one idea depend on another: although, because, since, while, whereas, unless, once, until, so that, even though. *Although the plan was ambitious, it succeeded because everyone worked together.*
Embedding: add details with relative clauses, participle clauses and appositives (a noun phrase that renames): Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city, is growing rapidly.
Variety: mix short sentences for impact with longer ones for explanation; vary sentence openings (a linker, a participle, a prepositional phrase).
Avoid: run-ons (joined with just commas), fragments (no main verb) and sentences so long that the reader gets lost.
Examples
- Having grown up by the sea, she found the city suffocating, although she loved its energy.
- The museum, which opened last year, attracts thousands of visitors who come to see its famous collection.
- Prices rose. Sales fell. Nobody was surprised.
- Unless the council acts now, the problem, already serious, will get worse.
Vocabulary
subordinate clause
a clause that depends on the main clause
appositive
a noun phrase that renames the noun before it
run-on sentence
two sentences joined incorrectly
fragment
an incomplete sentence
ambitious
needing a lot of effort to succeed
Practice
Which is a run-on sentence?
Speaking
Describe your hometown in five complex sentences, each using a different technique (subordination, relative clause, participle clause, appositive, contrast).
Writing
Rewrite this paragraph as 3–4 varied, complex sentences (100–130 words): “The town is small. It is near the mountains. Many tourists visit. They come in winter. They ski. The town needs more hotels. The council has a plan. Some residents disagree.”
- ☐ At least two subordinating conjunctions
- ☐ A relative or participle clause
- ☐ An appositive
- ☐ No run-ons or fragments
Lesson quiz
“Paris, the city of light, …” — the underlined phrase is an…
Review
Key points
- Subordination with although, because, unless, once…
- Embedding: relative clauses, participles, appositives.
- Vary length and openings; avoid run-ons and fragments.
What you learned
- ✓ I can write complex sentences.
- ✓ I can embed information.
- ✓ I vary sentence structure.
Grammar reference: Sentence structure and word order, Conjunctions and linking words, Relative clauses: who, which, that, where, whose