SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES: By the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

• Define a sentence;
• List some features of a sentence;
• Explain the classification of a sentence;
• Explain a complex sentence;
• Make some correct complex sentences.

DEFINITION: A sentence is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb and which expresses a complete sense, idea or thought. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. E.g.

• God is faithful.
• What is your name?
• What goodness!

FEATURES OF A SENTENCE:

• A sentence must have a subject and a predicate. E.g. The students are very clever. In this Sentence, ` the students’ is the subject, while `are very clever’ is the predicate.

• Can function as the root of an independent clause. E.g. am, is, are, were, was etc.
• A sentence must convey at least one complete thought or message. That is, it must contain at least one main clause.
• It may contain one or more main clauses and or subordinate clause.

SUBJECT OF A SENTENCE: It is a noun group which refers to the person or thing that performs the action expressed by the verb. E.g. The students are very clever.

The underlined part of the sentence is the subject.

PREDICATE: The predicate shows what is said about the subject. The predicate can be a single word or a group of words. E.g. Uche cried.; She laughed. The girl is very intelligent.; The students have finished the work.

CASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES

Sentences are classified according to structure and function.

Types of Sentences According to Structure

• Simple Sentence
• Compound Sentence
• Complex Sentence
• Multiple Sentence
• Compound Complex Sentence

Types of Sentences According to Function

• Declarative Sentence
• Interrogative Sentence
• Imperative Sentence
• Exclamatory Sentence
• Volitive Sentence

COMPLEX SENTENCES

A complex sentence is a sentence that contains one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses. E.g.

1 The children did not go to school today because it rained so heavily. (One main clause and one subordinate clause) "The children did not go to school" is the main clause.

2 That’s the man who called himself an evil genius   after plundering his fatherland for eight years. (One main clause and two subordinate clauses)

What is main clause? Main clause is the clause that conveys a complete thought. It can be a sentence because it makes a complete sense. It is also called an independent clause. In the two sentences above, the main clauses are: "The children did not go to school today...” who called himself an evil genius..."

 What is subordinate clause?  Subordinate clause is also called a dependent clause because it does not make a complete sense alone. It must depend on the main clause to convey a complete meaning. The subordinate clauses in the sentences above are: "...because it rained so heavily.", “That's the man...", “...after plundering his fatherland for eight,"

FORMATION OF A COMPLEX SENTENCE: A complex sentence is formed by joining two simple sentences together using subordinating conjunctions like: because, when, who, if, after etc. e.g.

1. The team is here.  2. The team has just won the cup. Complex sentence: The team which has just won the cup is here.

1. I saw the man.  2. The man composed the National Anthem.

Complex sentence: I saw the man who composed the National Anthem.

1. That's the man. 

2. The man called himself an evil genius. 

3. The man plundered his fatherland for eight years.

Complex sentence: That's the man who called himself an evil genius after plundering his fatherland for eight.

IDENTIFYING THE SUBJECT OF A COMPLEX SENTENCE

In each of the sentences below, the underlined part is the subject.

• The student who came first got a prize. (The subject of the sentence is a noun clause)
• The governor inspected the houses that had been damaged. (The subject is a noun phrase)
• I did not enjoy the film that was shown last night. (The subject is a noun).
• We all enjoyed the story which the teacher told us.( The subject is a noun phrase)
• The fact that he told a lie is unforgivable.(The subject is a noun clause)