Starter quiz
- Which of the following would we always find in a complex sentence?
- main clause ✓
- subordinate clause ✓
- relative clause
- adverbial clause
- non-finite (-ing) clause
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- Match the types of sentence to the examples.
- simple sentence⇔What a wonderful day it is! ✓
- compound sentence⇔We could do that, but I don't think we'd enjoy it. ✓
- complex sentence⇔The rain, which was very heavy, soaked us to the skin. ✓
- Which of these are correctly formed compound sentences?
- He will either win the sack race, or he will come second. ✓
- He will either win the sack race or the beanbag race.
- We will take the train and the bus.
- We can take the train and we can take the bus. ✓
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- Which of the following are complex sentences?
- We all watched closely as Mr Martinez showed us how to draw the animal. ✓
- We all watched Mr Martinez and we listened to what he was saying.
- When the day was over, we put our chairs on the tables. ✓
- Miss O'Neill, who is very kind, stayed behind at lunch to help me. ✓
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- Which of the following are non-finite (-ing) complex sentences?
- Sofia looked up as I entered.
- Looking up, I saw Sofia entering the room. ✓
- The door opened, creaking loudly. ✓
- The door creaked open loudly.
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- Which of these are correctly punctuated relative complex sentences?
- The moon, which was bright silver, beamed down on us. ✓
- The moon which was bright silver beamed down on us.
- The moon, which was bright, silver beamed down on us.
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Exit quiz
- What kind of word starts an adverbial clause?
- subordinating conjunction ✓
- relative pronoun
- noun
- relative clause
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- Which of the following can be subordinating conjunctions that start adverbial clauses?
- when ✓
- whose
- since ✓
- whilst ✓
- where
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- Which of the following could complete this sentence? 'Aisha won the race even though __________.'
- she was very fast
- she had the best trainers out of anyone
- she had hurt her leg ✓
- she had not had any time to practise ✓
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- A relative clause is always placed after ...
- an adjective.
- a verb.
- a noun. ✓
- an adverb.
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- Which sentences contain a relative clause?
- Everyone stared at Lucas, who was being silly. ✓
- We all looked at Lucas.
- Lucas, who was being silly, was embarrassing himself. ✓
- Lucas was embarrassing himself.
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- What is the relative clause in this sentence? 'The finger that I had bruised was all swollen.'
- the finger
- the finger that I had bruised
- that I had bruised ✓
- was all swollen
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Worksheet
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Presentation
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Adverbial clauses and relative clauses are types of subordinate clause; they must be joined to a main clause.
- Adverbial clauses start with subordinating conjunctions; there are many of these with different purposes.
- Relative clauses start with relative pronouns; occasionally in informal language, the relative pronoun is omitted.
- Adverbial clauses can be placed before or after a main clause in an adverbial complex sentence.
- Relative clauses are placed after the noun or noun phrase they tell us more about (and can be at the end of a sentence).
Common misconception
Pupils may have previously only seen a relative clause interrupting a main clause.
A relative clause can be placed after any noun it refers to, including at the end of a sentence.
Keywords
Subordinating conjunction - a word that starts an adverbial clause
Adverbial clause - a type of subordinate clause that starts with a subordinating conjunction
Relative pronoun - a word that starts a relative clause
Relative clause - a type of subordinate clause that starts with a relative pronoun
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