英语语法：39 Complex-Compound Sentences

Grammar Girl here.

Today’s topic is the complex-compound sentence.

Guest writer Sal Glynn writes:

Most writers worth their fingertip calluses begin as avid¹ readers. We read books, magazines, and websites indiscriminately until we start to notice the writing itself and marvel² at the many forms a sentence can take. The complex-compound sentence, spinning in the whirl of words, elicits³ the most admiration⁴ and envy. How can I write like that?

Declarative Sentences

First, start small. The declarative sentence is the building block of writing (1). It requires a simple string of one subject and one predicate, and usually has one direct object:

Henrik scrubbed the goat.

Henrik is the subject, scrubbed is the predicate, and the goat is the direct object.

Compound Sentences

All the necessary information is there, but your reader will go for a nap if you write too many short declarative sentences in a row.

Henrik scrubbed the goat. He danced a tarantella.*

Blah. But those two declarative sentences are related to each other because they're both about Henrik. So you can combine them to make a compound sentence:

Henrik scrubbed the goat, and he danced a tarantella.

Now the sentence contains two independent clauses, Henrik scrubbed the goat and he danced a tarantella. They're joined by the conjunction “and,” and can also be expressed as separate sentences—which is the big test for any compound structure.

Complex Sentences

The next step on the ladder of sentence complexity⁵ is the complex sentence. The straightforward⁶, no-nonsense complex sentence is made of a main clause and a dependent clause. The main clause can stand alone, but just as dependent children need their parents, dependent clauses need their main clause to escape being sentence fragments.

Henrik cleaned his beard after the goat kicked straw in his face.

Henrik cleaned his beard is the main clause and after the goat kicked straw in his face is the dependent clause. Readers get more information from complex sentences, and including them makes for an engaging reading experience.

Acquiring the Skill

Moving even higher on the ladder of sentence complexity, we've got the complex-compound sentence. As you might have guessed, complex-compound sentences are a combination of compound sentences and complex sentences. They have at least two main clauses and one dependent clause, and sometimes many others. Punctuation⁸ can also expand past the lone⁷ comma and period to include semicolons, and even dashes.

Henrik never should have bought the goat after it kicked straw in his face; he wanted to impress Daphne, who always wore a leopard⁹ skin pillbox hat.

Henrik never should have bought the goat is the first main clause and after it kicked straw in his face is the first dependent clause. He wanted to impress Daphne is the second main clause and who always wore a leopard skin pillbox hat is the second dependent clause.

Although they do appear in non-fiction, some of the most beautiful examples of complex-compound sentences appear in fiction. In John Barleycorn by Jack¹⁰ London (2), the writer shows the breathless enthusiasm of youth while piloting a bandit skiff on San Francisco Bay:

How was I, who had worked hard and read books of adventure, and was only fifteen years old, who had not dreamed of giving the Queen of the Oyster¹¹ Pirates a second thought, and who did not know that French Frank was madly and Latinly in love with her—how was I to guess that I had done him shame?

How was I is the main clause and “I” is the subject, with who had worked hard and read books of adventure being the first dependent clause. Was only fifteen years oldhas an implicit¹² “who” to make it a second dependent clause, and who had not dreamed of giving the Queen of the Oyster Pirates a second thought is the third dependent clause. We’re not out of the sentence yet. Who did not know that French Frank was madly and Latinly in love with her is the fourth dependent clause, and finally, the second main clause ends the sentence: how was I to guess that I had done him shame?

Of the classic writers, Jane Austen was fond of the complex-compound, as were Herman Melville, Joseph Conrad, and Henry James. Contemporary writer Flannery O’Connor used the complex-compound sentence judiciously¹³, David Foster Wallace tosses the structure around like a profligate¹⁴, and Thomas Pynchon is a master in his most dense¹⁵ novels. Alice Sebold uses the complex-compound to great effect in The Lovely Bones (3).

The Importance of Music

Your ear is the greatest asset in composing these sentences. The complex-compound is where the written word turns to music. Grammar is important, but what brings the meanings and actions of the sentence to the reader is the rhythm. An artfully constructed complex-compound sentence is sung instead of read. When the tune¹⁶ is missing, copy editors and readers will shriek¹⁷ when confronted with its appearance.

Now that you understand the complex-compound sentence, remember -- the quick and dirty tip is to listen for the music and construct them with care and attention.

Administrative¹⁸

The Dog Walked Down the Street: An Outspoken¹⁹ Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish

Thanks to guest-writer Sal Glynn, the author of the award-winning book The Dog Walked Down the Street, An Outspoken Guide for Writers Who Want to Publish. Find out more about Sal at his blog,...

 
You can find a transcript²⁰ of this podcast and all my contact information at quickanddirtytips.com.
 
That's all. Thanks for listening.
 

1 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

2 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。

3 elicits   

引出，探出( elicit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You might find that a sympathetic approach elicits kinder and gentler behavior. 你或许会发现用同情的方法，可引出更友善及更温和的行为。
• It presents information, shares ideas and elicits emotions. 它展示信息、流思想和抒发情感。

4 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

5 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

6 straightforward   

adj.正直的，坦率的；易懂的，简单的

参考例句：

• A straightforward talk is better than a flowery speech.巧言不如直说。
• I must insist on your giving me a straightforward answer.我一定要你给我一个直截了当的回答。

7 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

8 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

9 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

10 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

11 oyster   

n.牡蛎；沉默寡言的人

参考例句：

• I enjoy eating oyster; it's really delicious.我喜欢吃牡蛎，它味道真美。
• I find I fairly like eating when he finally persuades me to taste the oyster.当他最后说服我尝尝牡蛎时，我发现我相当喜欢吃。

12 implicit   

a.暗示的，含蓄的，不明晰的，绝对的

参考例句：

• A soldier must give implicit obedience to his officers. 士兵必须绝对服从他的长官。
• Her silence gave implicit consent. 她的沉默表示默许。

13 judiciously   

adv.明断地，明智而审慎地

参考例句：

• Let's use these intelligence tests judiciously. 让我们好好利用这些智力测试题吧。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His ideas were quaint and fantastic. She brought him judiciously to earth. 他的看法荒廖古怪，她颇有见识地劝他面对现实。 来自辞典例句

14 profligate   

adj.行为不检的；n.放荡的人，浪子，肆意挥霍者

参考例句：

• This young man had all the inclination to be a profligate of the first water.这个青年完全有可能成为十足的浪子。
• Similarly Americans have been profligate in the handling of mineral resources.同样的，美国在处理矿产资源方面亦多浪费。

15 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

16 tune   

n.调子；和谐，协调；v.调音，调节，调整

参考例句：

• He'd written a tune,and played it to us on the piano.他写了一段曲子，并在钢琴上弹给我们听。
• The boy beat out a tune on a tin can.那男孩在易拉罐上敲出一首曲子。

17 shriek   

v./n.尖叫，叫喊

参考例句：

• Suddenly he began to shriek loudly.突然他开始大声尖叫起来。
• People sometimes shriek because of terror,anger,or pain.人们有时会因为恐惧，气愤或疼痛而尖叫。

18 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

19 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

20 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。