The Dependent Clause
A dependent clause contains a complete subject and a complete verb asdoes a main clause.
Subordinate Connectives
after | before | since | until | whether |
although | how | so that | what | which |
as | if | than | when | while |
as if | in order that | that | where | who |
because | like | unless | whereas | why |
The Complex Sentence
The Complex Sentence contains one main or independent clause and one or more subordinate or dependent clauses. Example: Because leis made of flowers, leaves, or shells are usually associated with the Hawaiian Islands. Example: Leis made of flowers, leaves, or shells are usually associated with the Hawaiian Islands. Example: Because leis made of flowers, leaves, or shells are usually associated with the Hawaiian Islands, many people are not aware of the universal connection between the lei and necklaces and crowns worn in other parts of the world. Caution: Example: Before the Hawaiian lei came into being, necklaces and crowns were worn as body adornments, tokens of love, and symbols of rank since prehistoric times. Example: Before the development of the Hawaiian lei, people living elsewhere were attracted by colors, textures, materials, and techniques that were used to make that kind of wearable art. Example: In primitive cultures, where people admired how plants, flowers, or various kinds of seeds or nuts looked, smelled, sounded, or felt, they gathered samples to carry with them as portable treasures or magical tokens. Example: Wearing flowers or leaves around the neck or on the head left people free to move their arms and legs as they went about doing their daily chores. Example: Some of the earliest crowns or necklaces, which were made out of perishable materials like flowers or leaves, indicate that early man's home was probably in or near a forest. Note: Example: According to the historian, Marie McDonald, people who lived on the earth during pre-Christian times had leis made from perishable materials as well as nonperishable items. Note: Examples: 1. that: In 750 B.C., the Greeks wore the earliest recorded type of perishable leis that were crowns made of laurel and olive leaves. 2. what: Its sacred connection with the sun god Apollo was what made the crown of laurel so highly prized. 3. who: After being woven into leis, laurel leaf crowns were used by the Greeks to honor those who were heroes or who held high office. 4. which: In other cultures, crudely fashioned necklaces or leis which have been dug out of graves or manmade caves have survived from the Paleolithic time period. Caution: Note: Example: Leis of that type have been preserved because they were made out of non-perishable materials like bone, ivory, and shells as well as animal teeth and fish bones. That is why they were able to withstand the test of time. Example: By the time of the Neolithic time period, that dates from 3500 to 200 B.C., man had gone from salvaging fishbones to fashioning hand-tooled beads from clay, soft stone, or glass. Example: Craftsmen in the Aztec and Mayan cultures, who developed highly sophisticated techniques for making necklaces or leis, used gold and feathers to make them with. Example: The wreath that was made out of olive leaves was used to honor winners of Olympic events. Note: A Complex Sentence can have dependent clauses in front of, in the middle of, and after a main clause. Example: Whereas the Malaysians preferred to make their garlands out of fragrant flowers, leis, which were made to be worn as necklaces or crowns, were prized by the Chinese who made them out of jade, pearls, and gold as well as by Africans and American Indians who used materials like feathers, shells, and beads made of clay,* because those materials were close at hand when an occasion requiring a necklace or a headdress to be worn for a particular occasion called for craftsmen living in different cultures to produce that kind of wearable art. *When you have several dependent clauses in a row and you want an extra pause, place a comma between them where there is least disruption of meaning. Note: Example: I think that if you see the Hawaiian lei as part of a worldwide tradition involving necklaces and crowns, you will have a greater appreciation for those made of perfumed blossoms and fragile leaves. A single subordinate connective can make more than one clause dependent. Example: Because factory-made products were mass produced in the twentieth century and packs of chewing gum, wrapped candies, and tiny bottles filled with liqueurs were used as beads with an edible component. Example: Because factory-made products were mass produced in the twentieth century, packs of chewing gum, wrapped candies, and tiny bottles filled with liqueurs were used as beads with an edible component. Example: Because factory-made products were mass produced in the twentieth century and (because) packs of chewing gum, wrapped candies, and tiny bottles filled with liqueurs were seen as beads with an edible component, contemporary leis took on a whole new role. An entire dependent clause can function as the subject of a main clause. Example: That an edible lei could be worn around the neck of a child to serve as a necklace as well as a snack would have been beyond belief to Islanders of old. A Complex Sentences can have a dependent clause with an implied subordinate connective. Example: Most people don't know such common materials as cigarette wrappers and U.S. dollar bills have been used in the past for the making of modern day leis. Example: To satisfy the needs of all the people they are made for, leis make use of a broad range of materials that pass through the creative hands of their makers. A reminder:
Example: