Grammar

We know that a compound sentence combines two simple sentences with a comma and a conjunction. What about a complex sentence?

A complex sentence has one simple sentence, but it also contains one dependent clause. A dependent clause is one that can't stand alone as a complete sentence. It depends on the rest of the sentence to make sense.

When I got home is a dependent clause because it's not a sentence on its own. It does not express a complete thought. What happened when I got home? We need to combine it with a simple sentence to make the entire sentence complete.

Let's take a look at a few more.

Dependent Clause	Simple Sentence
When the mailman arrived,	the dog barked.
Because I was late,	I missed the train.
Although we lost the game,	I still had a lot of fun.

The examples above show the dependent clause at the beginning of each sentence. But dependent clauses don't always come at the beginning. Look at the first example above. Revise the sentence, placing the dependent clause at the end. Then, click Show Me to check your answer.

The dog barked when the mailman arrived.