This is the podcast for the Complex Grammar page of eapfoundation.com, the website for all your academic English needs. Good writing requires an appropriate mix of different types of sentence. Too many short simple sentences can make the writing boring, while too many long and complex sentences can make the writing dense and difficult to understand.
This podcast considers different kinds of sentence, then looks at the three different types of clause used in complex sentences, namely noun clauses, adjective clauses and adverbial clauses. On the website there's also an example passage so that you can see examples of each type of complex clause in an authentic text, as well as a checklist so you can check your understanding.
First then let's consider different kinds of sentence. There are three basic types of sentence that can be used in English, namely simple, compound and complex. A simple sentence is one which contains a single, independent clause, in other words a clause, a group of words with a subject and a verb, which is a sentence by itself, expressing a complete thought. The following are examples of simple sentences.
It takes a long time to learn. The compound sentence has two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction, for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so, or a semicolon. the following are examples of compound sentences academic writing is difficult so it takes a long time to learn Academic writing is difficult, semicolon. It takes a long time to learn.
A complex sentence, on the other hand, has one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses. A dependent clause is a clause that is not a complete thought and cannot be a sentence by itself. It could be one of three types, described in more detail later, namely noun clause, adjective clause and adverbial clause. the following are examples of complex sentences some experts do not agree that global warming is a serious problem that uses a noun clause
Burning fossil fuels adds to global warming which is one of the greatest threats to mankind. That uses an adjective clause. He learned academic writing quickly even though it is difficult. That uses an adverbial clause. Note that it's possible to combine the second and third types to produce a fourth type of sentence, the compound complex sentence, which contains two independent clauses and one or more complex clauses.
Let's now consider complex clauses, beginning with noun clauses. So the first type of dependent clause used to create complex sentences is the noun clause. A noun clause is a dependent clause that functions as a noun. There are three types, that clauses, wh word clauses and if weather clauses. First, that clauses. That clauses are introduced by the word that, which is often omitted if the meaning is clear. The following are some examples.
Scientists have concluded that greenhouse gas emissions are a serious problem. Experts have warned governments that reduction in fossil fuel consumption is necessary. Green, 2016, points out that class size is a key factor in school effectiveness. The lecturer assured us that the topic would not be covered on the test. There are many verbs in English which are followed by that clauses.
On the website there's a list of some of the most common ones. Many of these are reporting verbs, in other words verbs that are used to report the words or ideas of others, for example when giving in-text citations. In academic writing verbs are often written in passive voice with the neutral subject it.
the following are examples using some that clauses it was stated that it is generally agreed that it has been asserted that it has been shown that The tense of the verb in the that clause is usually related to the tense of the main verb, in other words the verb in the independent clause.
If the main verb is used in the present tense, the dependent clause verb can be written in whichever tense is appropriate. If the main clause verb is in a past tense, the verb in the dependent clause is usually also in the past tense. The exception to this is certain base form verbs which are always followed by the base form. These include the following, advise, ask, command, demand, direct, insist, propose, recommend, suggest and urge.
There are also adjectives which are followed by base form verbs such as advisable, essential, necessary, important, urgent and vital. the following are some examples to show verb tense it was concluded that lack of attention caused the accident which is past tense and past tense it is agreed that greater attention to the problem will be needed in future. And that's present tense and future tense. it is necessary that governments reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
and that uses the base form verb, reduce. It is recommended that greater precautions be taken in future experiments. That also uses base form verb, be. Second, WH word clauses. wh word clauses are formed from wh questions and are introduced by wh words such as who whoever What? Whatever. Where? Wherever. When? Why? Which? How? How long? How much and how many?
Since these clauses are statements, not questions, the word order should be subject and verb, and auxiliary verbs used in questions are not used. The following are some examples. It is not known where the epicentre of the earthquake was. The report explains how alpha waves are detected. It is not known where the substance originates. If whether clauses are formed from yes-no questions and are introduced by the word whether or if. The phrase or not may be added.
This can be added at the end of the sentence for both if and whether, or after the word weather, but not after the word if. Note that whether is more formal than if and is therefore more common in academic writing. The results of the experiment determined whether the drug entered human trials. The results of the experiment determined whether the drug enters human trials or not. The results of the experiment determined whether or not the drug entered human trials.
It is unclear if the measurements were completely accurate It is unclear if the measurements were completely accurate or not. let's move on now to adjective clauses the second type of dependent clause used to create complex sentences is the adjective clause also called a relative clause An adjective clause is a dependent clause that functions as an adjective. In other words, it modifies a noun or a pronoun. An adjective clause begins with one of the following relative pronouns.
who or whom for people, which for non-humans or things, whose or that for humans or non-humans or things, when for time, where for place. An adjective clause should be placed as closely as possible to the noun it modifies in order to avoid confusion. study the following two examples where the noun the experiment is modified by the phrase that was carried out the experiment that was carried out on the mouse was unsuccessful and here the meaning is clear
The experiment on the mouse that was carried out was unsuccessful, and here the meaning is less clear. Relative clauses are either restrictive, also called defining, or non-restrictive, also called non-defining. A restrictive clause is necessary because it identifies the noun for the reader. Commas are not used with restrictive clauses. A non-restrictive clause, on the other hand, is not necessary to identify the noun. It merely gives the reader additional information.
as it can be omitted without loss of meaning it is separated from the rest of the sentence using commas the following are two examples the material which was used in the experiment was impure This is restrictive, since the clause which was used in the experiment is needed to identify the material.
The material from the experiment, which was impure, was weighed twice. This is non-restrictive, since the clause which was impure merely gives additional information about the material, and so commas are used. Finally adverbial clauses. The third and final type of dependent clause used to create complex sentences is the adverbial clause.
An adverbial clause is a dependent clause which is used to modify the verb of the independent clause to give information on when, where, why, how, how long or how far. It is also used to show contrast or concession, in other words unexpected results. An adverbial clause can come either before or after an independent clause. If it comes before, a comma is needed to separate the two clauses. If it comes after, no comma is needed.
This is shown in the following two examples. Whenever a tectonic plate moves suddenly, an earthquake can occur. An earthquake can occur whenever a tectonic plate moves suddenly. And that sentence has no comma. There are several different kinds of adverbial clause, the following list, the different kinds, along with words that introduce them. Adverbial clauses of time introduced by when whenever while as soon as after since as before until
Adverbial clauses of place introduced by where, wherever, everywhere, anywhere. Clauses of reason introduced by because, since, as. Result introduced by so plus adjective or adverb plus that. Such a plus noun plus that. So much or so little plus noun plus that. So many or so few plus noun plus that. Purpose introduced by so that, in order that. Manner, distance, frequency introduced by as or as plus adverb as or as if or as though.
Contrast, introduced by while or whereas. And concession, introduced by although, even though or though. The following are some examples of each type. Wherever a tectonic plate moves suddenly, an earthquake can occur. That's an adverbial clause of time. Consumers tend to shop wherever they get the lowest price. That's a clause of place. Since individuals lack awareness of the issue, the government needs to raise awareness. And that's a cause of reason.
The readings were so inaccurate that they had to be discarded. That shows result. Precautions were taken so that the results would be more accurate. That shows purpose. The reactants were placed inside a beaker as quickly as possible. That shows manner. Ordinary writing employs many simple and compound sentences whereas academic writing uses more complex sentences.
and that shows contrast. Even though academic writing uses more complex sentences than ordinary writing, it should still be clear and easy to read, and that shows concession. That's the end of the podcast. Remember to check out the website for an example passage, giving examples of different types of complex language in an authentic academic text, as well as a checklist to check your understanding.