Complex Sentence

A complex sentence contains an independent clause and at least one dependent clause. An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence and makes a complete thought and a dependent clause can not stand alone, even though it has a subject and a verb.

Complex Sentences from Everyday Life

·         Because my coffee was too cold, I heated it in the microwave.

·         Though he was very rich, he was still very unhappy.

·         She returned the computer after she noticed it was damaged.

·         When the cost goes up, customers buy less clothing.

·         As she was bright and ambitious, she became manager in no time.

·         Wherever you go, you can always find beauty.

·         The movie, though very long, was still very enjoyable.

·         Evergreen trees are a symbol of fertility because they do not die in the winter. 

·         The actor was happy he got a part in a movie although the part was a small one.

·         The museum was very interesting as I expected.

·         Because he is rich, people make allowance for his idiosyncrasies.

·         The professional, who had been thoroughly trained, was at a loss to explain.

·         When she was younger, she believed in fairy tales.

·         After the tornado hit the town, there was little left standing.

·         I have to save this coupon because I don’t have time to shop right now.

·         Let’s go back to the restaurant where we had our first date.

·         Although my cousin invited me, I chose not to go to the reunion.

·         As genes change over time, evolution progresses.

·         I really didn’t like the play although the acting was very good.

·         Everyone laughed when he got a cream pie smashed in his face.

·         After twenty years, he still had feelings for her.

·         Some people tell me that money can’t buy happiness.

Complex Sentences from Literature

·         If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. - Henry David Thoreau

·         The Scarecrow and the Tin Woodman stood up in a corner and kept quiet all night, although of course they could not sleep. - L. Frank Baum

·         Because he was so small, Stuart was often hard to find around the house. - E.B. White

·         He was like a cock who thought the sun had risen to hear him crow. - George Eliot

·         No man, in all the procession of famous men, is reason or illumination, or that essence we were looking for; but is an exhibition, in some quarter, of new possibilities. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

·         The path to my fixed purpose is laid on iron rails, on which my soul is grooved to run. - Herman Melville