Complex Sentences - 6th Grade Grammar
An independent clause can stand alone as a sentence.
Today I went to a movie with my sister, who loves action films.
We went to a theater where she often goes with her friends.
She heard about this movie from a friend whose brother loved it.
When I go to a movie with friends, we usually choose something light and funny.
A dependent clause cannot stand alone and begins with a subordinating conjunction, such as after, although, as, before, because, if, since, until, when, where, and while.
Today I went to a movie with my sister, who loves action films.
We went to a theater where she often goes with her friends.
She heard about this movie from a friend whose brother loved it.
When I go to a movie with friends, we usually choose something light and funny.
A complex sentence has an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses.
We drove west until we saw the mountains.
Although I like sports and snow, I have never learned to ski.
My scout troop is going skiing this December.
All the scouts will take skiing lessons before we hit the big slopes.
We will spend the night at Sugar Loaf Camp, which is near the ski hill.
Use a comma after dependent clauses at beginnings of sentences.
As we climbed higher, the temperature dropped.