The composite sentence

§ 136. The composite sentence is a sentence consisting of two or more clauses. In its structure a clause is similar to a simple sentence, but unlike a simple sentence it forms part of a bigger syntactical unit.

Within a composite sentence clauses may be joined by means of coordination or subordination, thus forming a compound or a complex sentence respectively.

Coordination is a way of linking grammatical elements to make them equal in rank.

Subordination is a way of linking grammatical elements that makes one of them dependent upon the other (or they are mutually dependent).

1. The door of Henry's lunch-room opened, and two men came in.

2. I have come to you, because I know from reading your accounts that you are Mr Sherlock Holme's most intimate acquaintance.

These sentences may be graphically presented in the following way:

A compound sentence may contain coordinate clauses extended by subordinate clauses, and the resulting structure is a compound-complex sentence.

Pooh was very proud when he heard this, and he felt that Heffalump was as good as caught already, but there was just one other thing which had to be thought about.

The scheme of the above compound-complex sentence

A complex sentence may contain subordinate clauses joined by means of coordination, the resulting structure being a complex sentence with homogeneous subordinate clauses.

I must impress upon you again that you are in a very great danger, and that the utmost frankness is necessary.

The scheme of a complex sentence with homogeneous clauses

The compound sentence

§ 137. A compound sentence consists of two or more clauses of equal rank which form one syntactical whole in meaning and intonation. Clauses that are parts of a compound sentence are called coordinate, as they are joined by coordination.

Coordinate clauses may be linked together with or without a connector; in the first case they are joined syndetically.

Yesterday I bought a penny fiddle

And put it to my chin to play,

But I found its strings painted,

So I threw my fiddle away.

in the second, case - asyndeticaily:

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;

All the king's horses, and all the king's men

Cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again.

Syndetic coordination is realized with a number of connectors - conjunctions, such as and, but, or, nor, for, etc., or with conjunctive adverbs, such as moreover, besides, however, yet, still, otherwise, therefore, etc.

In writing coordinate clauses may be marked off by a comma, a semicolon, a colon or occasionally a dash. Sometimes they are not separated graphically at all. In speaking they are separated by pauses.

§ 138. The main semantic feature of the compound sentence is that it follows the flow of thought; thus the content of each successive clause is related to the previous one. Hence come two syntactical features of the compound sentence which distinguish it from the complex sentence.

T

Note :

A sentence may begin with a coordinating connector, but in this case the whole sentence is joined to the previous sentence in the text.

The first time Mrs Moffat invited him to watch television with her, Simon declined. He would rather read, he said. So she gave him books, she gave him classics. But the books he craved were garden books.

he first is as follows. The opening clause mostly plays the leading role, and each successive clause is joined to the previous clause.

The second feature is that the clauses are sequentially fixed. Thus a coordinate clause cannot change place with the previous one without changing or distorting the meaning of the whole sentence, as in:

It was pitch dark, for the fog had come down from London in the night, and all Surbiton was wrapped in its embraces.

However the change is possible if the clauses contain description.

The third feature is that coordinate clauses, either opening or subsequent, may belong to different communicative types.

You may go, but don't be late for dinner! (declarative and imperative clauses)

I had to leave at once, for whatever else could I have done? (declarative and interrogative clauses)

§ 139. From the point of view of the relationship between coordinate clauses, we distinguish four kinds of coordinate connection: copulative, adversative, disjunctive and causative-consecutive. The type of connection is expressed not only by means of coordinating connectives, but also by the general meaning of clauses conveyed by their lexical and grammatical content. This accounts for asyndetic coordination and for various uses of the conjunction and, when it expresses other relations - that of contrast or consequence.