Complex sentence query
Every definition of a complex sentence I've read says they need (at least) a dependent and an independent clause. With that in mind, would the following count as a complex sentence?
Panting heavily, I ran across the field.
I always would have said so, but I read tonight that a clause needs a subject and a verb, otherwise it's a phrase. Panting heavily must therefore be a phrase as it lacks a subject. Can you have a complex sentence with just an independent clause and a phrase?
Top answer
Panting heavily, I ran across the field. Well, traditional grammar calls this a complex sentence, where the main (independent clause) is "I ran across the field", and the subordinate (dependent) clause is "panting heavily". The dependent clause here is a non-finite one, and most non-finite clauses don't have a subject, though in a sense we understand them as if they do.
- Panting heavily, I ran across the field.
- Well, traditional grammar calls this a complex sentence, where the main (independent clause) is "I ran across the field", and the subordinate (dependent) clause is "panting heavily".
- The dependent clause here is a non-finite one, and most non-finite clauses don't have a subject, though in a sense we understand them as if they do.
- In your example, I did the running so it's understood that I also did the panting.
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Panting heavily, I ran across the field.
Well, traditional grammar calls this a complex sentence, where the main (independent clause) is "I ran across the field", and the subordinate (dependent) clause is "panting heavily".
The dependent clause here is a non-finite one, and most non-finite clauses don't have a subject, though in a sense we understand them as if they do. In y
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