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Key Terms - Sentence and Clause Types

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Key Terms for English Language - Sentence and Clause Types

You need to know the following key terms for your English Language exam:

Complex sentence

Complex sentence

  • A complex sentence is formed when you join a main clause and a subordinate clause with a connective.
  • Some connectives include: when, if, because, although.
    • E.g. While the wind blew, people stayed indoors.
Compound sentence

Compound sentence

  • A compound sentence is formed when you join two main clauses with a connective.
  • Some connectives include: and, but, so, or.
    • E.g. The sand was rough on my skin but the sun was gleaming brilliantly off the water.
Main clause

Main clause

  • A main clause is a clause that contains a subject, verb and an object. Main clauses make sense on their own.
    • E.g. I like bananas.
Simple sentence

Simple sentence

  • A simple sentence has one clause. It only has a verb and a subject.
    • E.g. She picked up the brown box.
Subordinate clause

Subordinate clause

  • A subordinate clause is one that relies on a main clause to make sense - it contains a subject and a verb, and adds extra information to the sentence. It needs to be attached to a main clause because it cannot make sense on its own.
    • E.g. After she noticed it was missing… (What happened?)
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Key Terms

2

Language Devices

3

Writing Structure

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Section B: Reading & Writing

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Section C: Writing

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