Complex
Sent ence
wit h an adver bial clause
Wr it ing 1
Sar i Hidayat i, M.A
A complex sent ence :
A sent ence t hat consist s of independent clause (main clause) and dependent clause (subordinat e clause)
There are t hree kinds of dependent clauses:
1.
Adj ect ive Clause (Relat ive Clause)2.
Adverbial Clause3.
Noun ClauseAn adverb cl ause is :
a dependent cl ause t hat f unct ions as an
adverb.
It can t ell
when, wher e, why, how, how
l ong, how f ar, how of t en,
and
f or what
pur pose
somet hing happened.
Kinds of Adver b Clauses
•
Time clauses
answer t he quest ion “ When?”•
Place clauses
answer t he quest ion “ Where?”•
Clauses of manner
answer t he quest ion “ How?”•
Dist ance clauses
answer t he quest ion “ How f ar?”•
Fr equency clauses
answer t he quest ion “ How of t en?”•
Pur pose clauses
answer t he quest ion “ For whatint ent ion?”
•
Result clauses
answer t he quest ion “ For what ef f ect ?”•
Condit ional clauses
answer t he quest ion “ Under whatcircumst ance?”
Punct uat ion of Adverb Cl auses
The punct uat ion of an adverb clause depends on t he order of t he clauses.
When an adverb clause comes f irst in a sent ence, put a comma af t er it .
When an adverb clause f ollows an independent clause, do not separat e t he clauses wit h a
comma.
Because humans ar e cur ious animals, t hey const ant ly explor e t he wor ld.
adverb clause main clause
OTHER EXAMPLES :
A. When he handed in his homework, he f orgot t o give t he t eacher t he last page.
B. The t eacher ret urned t he homework af t er she not iced t he error.
C. The st udent s are st udying because t hey have a t est t omorrow.
D. Af t er t hey f inished st udying, Jef f and Pam went t o t he movies.
E. Jef f and Pam went t o t he movies af t er t hey f inished st udying.
v
When a complex sent ence begins wit h a subordinat or, such as sent ences A and D,a comma i s r equi r ed
at t he end of t he dependent clause.v
When t he independent clause begins t he sent ence wit h subordinat ors in t hemiddle, as in sent ences B, C, and E,
no
comma i s r equi r ed
.v
If a comma is placed bef ore t hesubordinat ors in sent ences B, C, and E,
v
Not e t hat sent ences D and E are t hesame, except t hat sent ence D begins wit h t he adverb clause which is f ollowed by a comma, and sent ence E begins wit h t he main clause which cont ains no comma.
v
The comma af t er t he dependent clause in sent ence D is required, andexper ienced
list ener s of English will of t en hear a
slight pause t her e.
v
In sent ence E, however, t here will be no pause when t he independent clauseConnect or s f or Adver b Clauses
For complet e explanat ions of connect ors f or adverb clauses, please ref er t o
Oshima & Hogue (1997)
PRACTICE 1 – Complex Sent ence Const r uct ion
Const ruct complex sent ences cont aining adverb clause f ollowing t he appropriat e f unct ion and using appropriat e connect ors of t he clause. 1. Everyone should know what t o do. An
eart hquake st rike.
2. There are a f ew places of business. A credit card is not accept ed t here.
3. The art if act s were of hist oric value.
Ant hropologist s f rom several universit ies came t o st udy t hem.
4. Scient ist s know why eart hquakes happen. They are st ill not able t o predict t hem.
PRACTICE 2 – SENTENCE COMPLETION
Using t he prompt given, complet e t he sent ences using t he appropriat e adverb clauses.
1.
The company president would not have resigned if _________________________________2.
People like t o buy organic f arm produce so t hat ___________________________________3.
In recent years, Asian medical t echniques such as acupunct ure have gained accept ance in t he West even t hough ________________________4.
Sout h Korea is becoming an economic superpower because ____________________________v
WRITING PRACTICE
Writ e complex sent ences cont aining an
adverb cl ause as a response t o t he
