Can you have three clauses in a sentence

So unlike an independent clause, this type of clause will not make sense on it's own even though it has a subject and verb. To make sense, it must be joined with an independent clause. That is why dependent clauses are also called subordinating clauses - they are subordinate to under the control of the main clause, as they cannot exist without it.

Even though John likes golf Even though John likes golf, he played cricket at the weekend. Rather than coordinating conjunctions, the relationship between these types of clauses is expressed through subordinating conjunctions , such as while, although, even though, as soon as, since, despite, which, who, that, etc.

When we join these two types of clauses, we get a complex sentence. Here are some examples of complex sentences, with the dependent clause in green:. He likes southern Spain , whereas I like the north.

Canberra , which is the capital of Australia , is a fairly new town. Although mathematics is complicated , I'm determined to pass. The meaning of this sentence is that we already know who the man is and that he had a tattoo of a sailboat on his arm.

Direct address shows that someone is being directly spoken to. Examples: John, could you open the window? Mary Jones, you have just won a new car! Also use the comma if the place is not the last item in a sentence. Example: Maria will be visiting Toronto, Canada, in May.

Example: Hershey, Pennsylvania, is a place where a lot of chocolate candy is made. Example of an opening: Dear Rita,. Example of a closing: Very truly yours,. How do you know where the sentence ends? The sentence may or may not have an object. Verb fragment Is a beautiful place. Adverb clause fragment When Bob went to Hawaii.

Adjective clause fragment. Noun clause fragment That he is a talented actor. Gerund fragment There are three things that Bob loves to do. Eating, sleeping, and water skiing. There are three things that Bob loves to do: eating, sleeping, and water skiing. The Semicolon ;. Example: The dog started barking loudly; the cat jumped on top of the refrigerator.

Without semicolon: The dog started barking loudly, so the cat jumped on top of the refrigerator. Fragments are not the only problems that a sentence can have. Two opposite problems are the comma.

The word "When" is also another indicator that you are looking at a phrase. Other subordinating conjunctions include: although, because, before, how, if, since, though, where, whether, and while. You can use a comma to join dependent and independent clauses. The comma indicates where one clause ends and another begins. In some cases, you won't need a comma if there is no confusion about the boundary of the clauses. Here are some examples:.

The use of a comma when a dependent clause comes before an independent clause as in Example 1 above is optional, particularly when joining two short clauses, but you'll most commonly see a comma used to separate the two clauses.

However, that guideline is generally not applied when the sequence of phrases is reversed, as in Example 3. Joining sentences 1 and 2 together using the strategies outlined above, produces two possible options:. In Example 3a, the writer uses the conjunction "and" with a comma and in 3b, a semicolon.

Each has a slightly different rhetorical effect. With "and," the relationship between the oil and the antioxidant substances is explicit. In other words, the ideas have been combined in a way that makes it clear to the reader what the relationship is between the first and the second clauses. The semicolon, on the other hand, is no less appropriate, but the reader has to judge from the context what the relationship is between the ideas expressed in each clause since a semicolon can suggest several things, from combination and contrast to simply giving additional information.

For example:. The sentence below, for example, is confusing:. These two clauses express contrasting ideas. We need a contrast word to make the connection clear. In this case, you might use the contrast conjunctions but or yet with a comma Method 1 , or you might decide to use Method 3. A transitional expression is a word or phrase that shows the relationship between two ideas.

A semicolon with a transitional expression often makes a smoother connection than a semicolon alone. There are many transitional expressions showing different kinds of relationships. Here are a few common examples:. Note that a comma is used after the transitional expression. The sentence has the structure IC; transition, IC :. Keep in mind that a transitional expression is not a conjunction; it does not join sentences grammatically. Therefore, a period or a semicolon is needed before a transitional expression between two independent clauses:.

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