K/H: Compound-Complex Sentences

Your compound-complex sentences are due Friday on TurnItIn.com before we take our vocab quiz. We allow a 1 day grace period for turning in daily grades; I'm not accepting the sentences after 11:59pm on Friday night. <--- Did you notice that was a compound sentence?

Here are the compound-complex notes, color-coded for your fun and pleasure:

YELLOW = subordinating conjunctions, which are used to create dependent clauses
GREEN = coordinating conjunctions, which come between two independent clauses
UNDERLINED = each CS (subject + verb construction)

1. Because Ms. Wise leveled the contemptuous visage in his direction, Paul finally realized that he had committed a classroom infraction, and he evinced this understanding by adjusting his behavior.

This one starts with a dependent clause. Notice that because the dependent clause comes first, there is a comma. 

2. Ms. Adams was livid when she discovered one of her students had cheated, but she was consoled by the fact that the malodorous plagiarist would no longer darken her door.

In this one, the dependent clause is not first - hence, no comma. 

3. If Ms. Holden had attended the retrospective of Marie Cassatt’s work at the De Menil museum, she would have learned so much about the American impressionist, yet she elected to stay home and watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey instead.


4. After they learned the most abhorrent aspect of Mr. Millstein’s personality, his students reluctantly attended class; they made sure to beat a hasty retreat when the bell rang.

Another example of the dependent clause first - notice the comma. This one uses a semicolon in place of a comma-FANBOYS combo. 

5. Because Ms. Miller can’t stand sycophants in her class, she dismisses vacant flattery, and her students have a hard time getting on her good side.