Sentences are made of clauses
Writers express ideas in sentences, and every sentence is built from one or more clauses. A clause is a group of words with a subject (who or what the clause is about) and a predicate (what the subject does or is).
- An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence: “The council voted.”
- A dependent (subordinate) clause has a subject and verb, but it cannot stand alone because it begins with a word that makes it depend on something else: “because the budget was short”, “who attended the meeting”, “although the evidence is limited”.
A sentence needs at least one independent clause. Dependent clauses add information, conditions, reasons or contrasts to it.
A phrase has no subject-and-verb pair of its own: “after the vote”, “in the long run”, “running late”. Phrases and single words also do work in arrangement, as you will see.
Four sentence types
| Type | Clauses | Example (written by Marlbridge) |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | One independent clause | “The council voted.” |
| Compound | Two or more independent clauses, joined by a coordinating word or a semicolon | “The council voted, and the residents cheered.” |
| Complex | One independent clause and at least one dependent clause | “When the council voted, the residents cheered.” |
| Compound-complex | Two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause | “When the council voted, the residents cheered, but the mayor looked worried.” |
Do not treat the labels as the goal. They are a vocabulary for talking about what the sentence does with its ideas. You will not be asked on the exam to produce a type; you will be asked to explain how a sentence’s construction contributes to the argument.
Why arrangement matters
Readers give most attention to the end of a sentence and some to its beginning. Material in the middle receives the least. The same ideas, rearranged, shift the emphasis.
Compare:
- “The report was ignored, although it had been accurate.”
- “Although it had been accurate, the report was ignored.”
Both contain the same two ideas. In the first, the ending leaves the reader on “accurate”, so the sentence stresses the report’s quality. In the second, the final word is “ignored”, so the sentence stresses the neglect. Which is better depends on the writer’s purpose: to praise the report, or to criticise those who ignored it.
The same principle works at several levels: word order in a clause, clause order in a sentence, sentence order in a paragraph, and even paragraph order in an essay. A short sentence after a long one draws a spotlight onto it.
Three arrangements to recognise
Loose (cumulative) sentence. The main clause comes first and the sentence continues with added detail. It sounds natural and conversational. “We left the town at dawn, driving through the fog, past the empty market and the shuttered inn, listening to nothing but the wheels.”
Periodic sentence. The main idea is delayed to the end, and the reader waits for it through subordinate material. It builds suspense and gives the final clause weight. “When every appeal had failed, when every petition had gone unanswered, when the last official had turned away, the village decided to act for itself.”
Balanced sentence. Two parts of similar grammatical form and length are set against or beside each other, so the reader feels equality or contrast. “It is easier to criticise than to create; it is harder to create than to criticise well.”
Real examples (public domain)
Periodic: the Declaration of Independence (1776). “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
The independent clause, “a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes”, is held back until the end. Everything before it sets out the circumstances, so by the time the main clause arrives the reader accepts that an explanation is owed. The arrangement lends the act of declaring a quality of reluctant necessity.
End position: Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address (1863). “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
The first half is built from unemphatic claims (“little note”, “nor long remember”), and the closing clause lands on “what they did here”. The contrast between “what we say” and “what they did” is set up by the structure, and the sentence ends on the idea Lincoln wants the audience to leave with: the soldiers’ actions.
Worked example 1: reading the clauses of a sentence
Task. Identify the clauses in the sentence below (written by Marlbridge), classify it, and explain which idea is emphasised.
“Although the museum had promised free entry, visitors who arrived on Saturday found a queue and a ticket desk, and many turned back.”
Step 1: find the verbs and their subjects.
- “the museum had promised”: subject the museum, verb had promised. It begins with “Although”, so it is dependent.
- “visitors found”: subject visitors, verb found. This is independent.
- “who arrived on Saturday”: subject who, verb arrived. It modifies “visitors”, so it is dependent.
- “many turned back”: subject many, verb turned back. Independent.
Step 2: classify. Two independent clauses (“visitors… found a queue and a ticket desk” and “many turned back”) and two dependent clauses (“Although the museum had promised free entry” and “who arrived on Saturday”): a compound-complex sentence.
Step 3: say what is emphasised. The sentence begins with the museum’s promise, a dependent clause that sets up an expectation. The main clauses then deliver the disappointment. The sentence ends on “many turned back”, a short independent clause, so the reader leaves on the consequence. The writer’s purpose is probably to criticise the broken promise, and the arrangement gives the promise a position in order to break it.
Worked example 2: rearranging to shift emphasis
Task. A student drafts: “The principal announced the new timetable on the last day of term, after most parents had stopped checking the school’s emails.” The student wants the sentence to stress the lateness of the announcement. Rearrange it and explain.
Step 1: find the idea to stress. The lateness: “on the last day of term, after most parents had stopped checking”.
Step 2: move it to the end, keeping the main clause intact. The original already ends on “stopped checking the school’s emails”. The emphasis falls on parents not looking. To stress lateness rather than emails, make the timing the final element:
“The principal announced the new timetable to parents who had stopped checking the school’s emails, on the last day of term.”
Step 3: or create a periodic version. “On the last day of term, when most parents had stopped checking the school’s emails, the principal announced the new timetable.”
Step 4: compare. The periodic version delays the main clause, so the reader meets the principal’s act last, as if it were the culmination of a series of circumstances. It stresses the decision more than the lateness. If the writer wants to emphasise the lateness, the first rearrangement (ending on “on the last day of term”) is stronger. The answer therefore depends on the purpose, which is what the analysis should state.
Check. Each rearrangement keeps the same facts. Only the order changes, and the emphasis changes with it.
Common misconceptions
- “A longer sentence is more sophisticated.” Length is not complexity. A long, loose sentence can be easy to read; a short, precise one can be hard-hitting.
- “Dependent clauses are less important.” They are grammatically subordinate, but they often carry the writer’s reason, concession or condition.
- “A comma splice is a compound sentence.” A comma alone does not join two independent clauses correctly; you need a coordinating conjunction, a semicolon or a full stop (see Topic 7.6).
- “The beginning of a sentence is always the most emphatic.” The end is usually stronger.
- “On the exam I should label every clause.” Labelling is not analysis. Name the structure briefly and explain its effect.
- “Periodic sentences are always better.” They suit solemn or climactic moments; an overlong periodic sentence in a casual setting sounds stiff.
Where this leads
Topic 7.5 looks at how clauses are joined: coordination to show balance, subordination to show imbalance. Practise now with the practice questions, use the revision notes and the checklist, then read the Topic 7.5 study guide. To recall how a modifier clause limits a claim, revisit the Topic 7.3 study guide.
Quick questions
Do I have to write long complex sentences in timed essays?
No. You are expected to read and analyse such sentences, and to write clearly. A short clear sentence in the right place is worth more than a long tangled one.
What is the difference between a clause and a phrase?
A clause has its own subject and verb; a phrase does not. 'When the bell rang' is a clause. 'After the bell' is a phrase.
Where is the most emphatic place in a sentence?
The end is usually the strongest position, because the reader finishes on it; the beginning is the second strongest. Material in the middle gets the least emphasis.