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complex sentence

Definition of complex sentence

noun

  • a sentence containing a subordinate clause or clauses.

Grammar

A sentence with a main clause and at least one subordinate clause introduced by a subordinating conjunction. Examples of complex sentences are:

She told himthatshe did not play again for over a week.
main clausesubordinating conjunctionsubordinate clause
Ifit rainseverything in the shed will get wet.
subordinating conjunctionsubordinate clausemain clause
Whenthe children came back from schoolthey foundthatstill nothing had changed.
subordinating conjunctionsubordinate clausemain clausesubordinating conjunctionsubordinate clause

complex sentence in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of complex sentence in the US English dictionary