Sentence structures

Level 2

Worked example
Example
When you want to join two clauses together in a complex sentence,
think about the following three steps:
➤➤ decide which clause is the main clause;
➤➤ find the best joining word;
➤➤ shape the new sentence around it.

Let’s have a closer look at how to do this:

Razeeb is learning how to cook. He is bored with sandwiches.

Here are two examples of how these two sentences can be joined to
make a complex sentence:

Main clause Subordinate clause

Razeeb is learning how to cook because he is bored with sandwiches.

Subordinator

Comma to buffer
Subordinator the main clause

Because he is bored with sandwiches, Razeeb is learning how to cook.

Subordinate clause Main clause

The subordinator ‘because’ is well chosen because the subordinate

clause explains why Razeeb is learning how to cook.

© Hodder & Stoughton Limited 2019 1