The Compound Sentence

A compound sentence is a composite sentence consisting of clauses connected by coordination, i.e. by sentence sequence. Coordination comprises the following types of connection:

1. Copulative connection, implying addition, harmony, agreement (and, nor, neither…nor, both…and)

2. Disjunctive connection, implying choice, alternative (or, else, otherwise)

3. Adversative connection expressing contrast, opposition (but, yet, while, however, still)

4. Causal and consecutive implying reason and conclusion (for, so, hence, thus, so that, then, accordingly, therefore)

The semantic relations between the coordinated clauses depend partly on the lexical meaning of the conjunctions and partly on the meanings of the words making up the clauses themselves. There has been some discussion about the degree of independence of the clauses making up a compound sentence. The opinion has been expressed that the independence of the clauses is not complete, and the structure of the second and following clauses is to same extent predetermined by the first.

The Complex Sentence

A complex sentence is formed by subordination and consists of a principle clause and one or more subordinate clauses. The order of clauses often varies. The subordinate clause may precede or follow the principal one. E.g. As I was in a hurry I took a taxi.

A complex sentence may contain several degrees of subordination, when one subordinate clause has another subordinated to it, and so on. There may be clauses of the first, second and third degree of subordination. E.g. The party was held in a large room which was already crowded when Shelton entered.

Sometimes the subordinate clause contains the main idea and the principal one expresses a modal shade of meaning – doubt, certainty, etc. E.g. It is certain that he will come soon.

If a composite sentence contains coordination and subordination together, it is called a compound – complex or complex – compound sentence.

Complex Sentences with Subject clauses

There are two types of complex sentences with the subject clause in English:

1. The subject clause precedes the principal clause which is incomplete (the subject clause is the subject of the whole complex sentence). Such sentences rarely occur in English. E.g. What was done could not be undone. ‘What’ is usually rendered in Russian by ‘то, что’.

2. The subject clause follows the principal clause which begins with the anticipatory ‘it’. Such sentences are commonly used in English. E.g. It appears that he was very hard up. ‘It’ is the auxiliary (formal) part of the subject of the complex sentence; the subject clause is the lexical part of the whole ‘compound subject’.

In M.E. due to the fixed word order the subject cannot follow the predicate unless some formal element is used to fill in the place of the subject. The subject clauses are usually used after the following constructions with ‘it’. E.g. It happened, it turned out, it chanced, it is possible, it is right, it is a pity, etc.

Complex Sentences with the emphatic ‘it’ have the following structure: It is (was) – the emphasized part – a clause. E.g. It was James who saved the situation. Hence the clause ‘who saved the situation’ may be called a subject clause. Emphatic complex sentences are formed as a result of a transformation of an unemphatic sentence. Cf. James saved the situation. It was James who saved the situation.

Any part of the sentence, except the attribute or a verb-predicate, can be emphasized by means of this emphatic construction. The English emphatic complex sentences are rendered in Russian by simple sentences in which the emphatic words именно, как раз, и т.п. are used.