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Two: we want to tell you about this lesson, who it’s for, what’s in it and what isn’t.
This lesson will focus on grammar structures for forming complex sentences without using
conjunctions.
If you want to learn about using conjunctions to form complex sentences, you can watch our
Also, using these structures requires that you have at least an intermediate knowledge
of English grammar.
This lesson assumes that you know how to form different verb forms and use relative clauses,
You might need to watch it in sections, and repeat sections several times.
Finally, a warning!
Using complex sentences can enhance your writing, but *only* if you have complex, coherent ideas
behind them.
If your ideas are basic, or incoherent, using what you think are ‘advanced’ grammar
If you want to read more about tulip mania, there’s a link to a Wikipedia article in
Ready?
These sentences are all grammatically simple, meaning that they each have one main verb.
Now, you’ll see four different grammatical tools you can use to combine and add to these
Do you know what -ing participle clauses are, and how you can use them?
You can use an -ing participle clause to connect two ideas which happen at the same time, or
In this case, you could express the same idea using ‘because’, like this:
In a sentence like this with two clauses, the -ing clause can *only* refer to the subject
Let’s practise!
Your answer should be quite similar to the example you saw before.
Ready?
There’s one more way to use -ing clauses: you can use a perfect -ing form, with ‘having’
plus a past participle, to show that one thing happened before another.
For example:
So, quick review: you can use -ing participle clauses to do three things.
One: use them to show that two actions happened at the same time.
Three: use them—with ‘having’ plus a past participle—to show that one thing happened
after another.
Remember that you can always review a section if you need more time to work on it.
There are two kinds of participle clauses: -ing clauses and -ed clauses.
You can use -ed participle clauses when you have two clauses with the same subject, and
Like -ing clauses, -ed participle clauses do not have a subject in the participle clause.
Can you combine these two sentences with an -ed participle clause?
Because the -ed clause doesn’t have a main verb, the verb tense information—‘had
In these two sections, you’ve seen how to use -ing and -ed participle clauses to link
In this case, you’re using the -ed participle clause not to replace an independent clause,
Relative clauses are one of the most powerful ways to add and combine ideas in complex sentences.
One: you can use a relative clause to add information to a noun or noun phrase.
Two: you can use a relative clause with ‘which’ to add information to a sentence or idea.
Let’s look at an example of the first case: using a relative clause to add information
to a noun.
Relative clauses used like this can *only* describe the noun they come after.
If you’re using a relative clause to add information to a noun, the clause *must* come
You can use multiple relative clauses in the same sentence; for example:
Here, you add a second relative clause, with ‘when’, to add more information about
Using multiple relative clauses like this allows you to structure your ideas in different
ways.
For example, you could also write this: This might be useful if you want to add more
Let’s practise!
Look at two ideas: Can you connect these two ideas using a relative
clause?
Ready?
Here’s a hint: ‘1637’ appears twice, and you need to link the two instances.
Here’s the best way to do it: Let’s look at one more point here.
You can also use a relative clause to add information or explanation to a whole idea.
Two: your relative clause must add an explanation or an opinion related to the idea before the
relative clause.
To be a good writer, you should make it clear which ideas are more important.
In English, ideas which are close to the beginning of the sentence are more important than others.
So, if you want to emphasise an idea, you should find a way to move it to the beginning
of the sentence.
You can do this by using ‘it’, like this: Here, you’re focusing on the year, 1637.
Often, you use this structure to focus on a factual detail, like a person, time, place
and so on.
You can also combine this with other structures you’ve seen in this lesson.
For example, you could add a relative clause to the end of this sentence, like this.
Look at a sentence.
Can you write two different sentences, starting with ‘it’, to emphasise these two ideas?
Take a look.
In the first sentence, you’ll probably need to change the structure a little by separating
Now, you’ve seen several ways to form complex sentence structures in English.
First, you can use a grammar book or other resources to practise the topics you’ve
Look for chapters and exercises on -ing participle clauses, -ed participle clauses, relative
clauses, and cleft sentences.
‘Cleft sentences’ are also called ‘focusing clauses’ in some books and materials.
Secondly, remember that the ideas in this lesson are not the only way to connect ideas
You should also learn how to use a range of conjunctions and linking phrases to build
sentences.
Finally, practise writing, and try to use some of these ideas in your writing.
Get good quality feedback to make sure that your writing is clear, well-organised and
accurate.
If you need help from a teacher, then our teachers can work with you to improve your
English writing.
You can take a discounted trial lesson on our website—look for the link under the
video, or visit Oxford Online English dot com and click ‘get started’!
That’s all.