Complex Sentences
Complex sentences are sentences composed of a Main Clause and one or more Embedded Clause. These sentences allow speakers and writers to express more information in a single sentence while maintaining the fluidity that might be lost if those clauses were broken up into multiple sentences.
Embedded Clauses fulfill a certain part of speech within their Main Clause, taking the role of an adjective, adverb, or noun. The details of forming a complex sentence depends upon the type of Embedded Clause used.
Intro to Clauses
The following topics are sorted based on the type of Embedded Clause they feature: Relative (Adjectival) Clauses, Adverbial Clauses, and Content (Noun) Clauses.
Relative Clauses
aka Adjectival Clauses
Relative Clauses
Advanced Relative Clauses
RECOMMENDATION: First visit the Relative Clauses page.
Adverbial Clauses
Adverbial Clauses
Condition Clauses
Content Clauses
aka Noun Clauses
Reported Speech
Using 'That' with Reporting Verbs
RECOMMENDATION: Visit the Reported Speech page first.
Indirect Questions
RECOMMENDATION: Visit the Reported Speech page first.
Wishes & Regrets
Appendices
only with Insider Access
General Notes
Colored Text
Our videos feature selective colored text. Colors stand out and help students know what to pay attention to. We’re rather consistent with our color choices so that students learn to expect certain things from certain colors. We recommend using this same technique yourself. Read our article to learn more.
Focus on Structure & Usage
Most of our methods are all about either sentence structure or usage. We touch on forms of individual words less often, and we hardly ever address infection or pronunciation. All five of these are important, but form and pronunciation tend to be more straightforward, so we let teachers decide for themselves how to present those. We dedicate our resources to the trickier stuff.
Working in Phrases
Most of the time when we say ‘noun’, we actually mean ‘noun phrase’, which typically includes determiners (like articles, possessives, and quantifiers) and sometimes adjectives. We often do the same with verb strings; auxiliary verbs, ‘not’, and sometimes adverbs are included when we say ‘verb’.
Within the framework of a sentence, combining all those individual words into one block is generally helpful, as they act together to serve a single purpose.
American English
We mostly use American English, although most ESOL books primarily use British English. We do this because our founder and lead content creator is American, so it’s what comes natural to him. Just think of this as an excuse to teach your students some of the differences between British English and American English.