SENTENCE - simple vs. complex

A sentence is made up of at least one subject and at least one verb idea to give a compete idea (known as a clause). The verb must be conjugated to agree with the subject for this idea to be complete.

e.g. SHAKESPEARE WAS A PLAYWRIGHT.
- "Shakespeare" is the subject.
- "was" is the verb (conjugated to agree with the subject)

SIMPLE SENTENCES

Simple sentences are made up of just one clause (verb idea), that is, although there may be more than one subject, there is only one clause.

e.g. IT MUST HAVE BEEN WINDY LAST NIGHT.
- There is one subject “It” and one verb idea “must have been”.
- Although there are three elements to make the verb "must have been", it is still only one clause (verb idea).
- If a sentence has more than one clause, it is not a simple sentence.

e.g. BOTH BONDI AND SURFERS PARADISE HAVE BEEN MARKETED AS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BEACHES IN AUSTRALIA.
- There are two subjects “Bondi” and “Surfers Paradise”, but only one verb idea “have been marketed”.
- Again, despite all the elements used to make the subjects and the verb idea, it is still only one clause.
- It is a simple sentence.

e.g. JOHN HAS NEVER SEEN THE NORTHERN LIGHTS AND HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN AIRPLANE.
- As there are two clauses, this CANNOT be classified as a simple sentence.
- "has never seen" is a separate verb idea to "has never been".
- This is a compound sentence. For more information on compaound sentences, see link on COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS.

COMPLEX SENTENCES

While a compound sentence (see link on COORDINATING CONJUNCTIONS) is the linking of two or more independent clauses, a complex sentence contains a main clause and at least one dependent clause.

Usually, independent clauses will take on the role of the main clause, whereas the dependent clauses may be adverbial clauses, adjective clauses, or even noun clauses (see link on NOUN CLAUSES).

e.g. ALTHOUGH SHE FLIES OF THE HANDLE QUITE OFTEN, SHE IS A GOOD-NATURED PERSON.
- “she is a good-natured person” is the independent clause (main clause).
- “Although she flies of the handle quite often” is the dependent clause (adverbial clause of contrast (concession)).
- “Although” is a subordinating conjunction of contrast.
- ANY SENTENCE WITH AT LEAST ONE DEPENDENT CLAUSE IS A COMPLEX SENTENCE.

e.g. CLARK KENT, WHO WAS SUPERMAN’S COVER-UP, HELD A JOB AS A JOURNALIST IN THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER.
- “Clark Kent held a job as a journalist in the local newspaper” is an independent clause (main clause).
- “who was Superman’s cover-up” is a dependent clause (adjective clause)
- “who” is a relative pronoun working as the subject of the dependent clause.

e.g. THAT DEMOCRACY IS NOT A PERFECT SYSTEM IS MADE CLEAR BY THE GROWTH IN POVERTY.
- “That democracy is not a perfect system is made clear by the growth in poverty” is the main clause.
- “That democracy is not a perfect system” is a dependent clause (noun clause) working as the subject of the main clause (for the verb “is”).
- “That” is a subordinating conjunction introducing the noun clause.