Sentence Types
English Language: AQA GCSE, topic 1.1.3
Key Terms for English Language - Sentence and Clause Types
You need to know the following key terms for your English Language exam:
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
- 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
- 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
- A simple sentence has one clause. It only has a verb and a subject.
- E.g. She picked up the brown box.
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?)
Test yourself on Sentence Types
Which of these are main clauses?
What type of clause does NOT make sense by itself?