Word Order Creates Sentence Patterns
created by The Writing
Center at UNC-Chapel Hill
Compound-complex Sentences
What this
handout is about
This
handout gives an overview of the English compound-complex sentence pattern. Go
to the Sentence Patterns posting for information on how to understand sentence
patterns by identifying subjects, verbs, and clause connectors. Always analyze your writing style and improve
it by using a variety of sentence patterns.
Four Basic Sentence Patterns
Every
sentence pattern follows a different way to combine clauses. When you are
drafting your own papers or when you’re revising them for sentence variety, try
to determine how many of these patterns you use. If you favor one particular
pattern, your writing might be kind of boring if every sentence has exactly the
same pattern. If you find this is true, try to revise a few sentences using a
different pattern.
NOTE: Because
nouns can fill so many positions in a sentence, it’s easier to analyze sentence
patterns if you find the verbs and find the
connectors. The most common connectors are listed below with the
sentence patterns that use them.
In
the descriptions below, S=Subject and V=Verb, and options for arranging the
clauses in each sentence pattern given in parentheses. Connecting words and the
associated punctuation are highlighted in brown. Notice how the punctuation
changes with each arrangement.
Pattern 4:
Compound-Complex Sentence
Two
or more independent clauses PLUS one or more dependent clauses. They can be
arranged in these ways: (SV, and SV because SV.) or (Because SV, SV, but SV.)
Connectors:
Connectors listed under Patterns 2 & 3 are used here. Find the connectors,
then find the verbs and subjects that are part of each clause.
Mr. Potato Head
said that he would share the secret recipe; however, if he does, Mrs. Potato
Head will feed him to the piranhas, so we are both safer and happier if I don’t
eat monkeys or steal recipes.
Try this: Use a
fourth color to highlight the compound-complex sentences in your text (the ones
with at least two independent and at least one dependent clauses).
Look
at the balance of the four different colors. Do you see one color standing out?
Do you notice one missing entirely? If so, examine your text carefully while
you ask these questions:
·
Could you separate some of
the more complex sentences?
·
Could you combine some of
the shorter sentences?
·
Can you use different
arrangement options for each of the sentence patterns?
·
Can you
use different connectors if you change the order of the clauses?
To
learn more about sentence structure, review the sentence structure post by
clicking here: sentence structure.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 2.5 License.
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout (just click print) and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout (just click print) and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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© 2010-2014 by The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill.
Content of this posting create by UNC-CH Writing Center and it is available at http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/sentence-patterns/
phone: (919) 962-7710 • email: writing_center@unc.edu
IF IT'S TIME-SENSITIVE, DON'T EMAIL. CALL US!
© 2010-2014 by The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill.
Content of this posting create by UNC-CH Writing Center and it is available at http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/sentence-patterns/
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