[Grammar] Sentence type

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Kt803

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Hi I was wondering if anyone could help me identify what type of sentence this is please....

It is therefore no wonder that the modern business girl is a staunch advocate of the use of the two purest and popular creams Pond's Vanishing Cream and Pond's Cold Cream.

It has been taken from an old advertisement which I am using for part of my English Language investigation. I need to identify subordinate clauses and different types of sentences in order to explore the level of formality used.

At first I thought it was a complex sentence, with a subordinate clause starting at 'that', but I'm not so sure.

Any help would be most appreciated,
Thanks in advance :)
 

TheParser

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Hi I was wondering if anyone could help me identify what type of sentence this is please....

It is therefore no wonder that the modern business girl is a staunch advocate of the use of the two purest and popular creams Pond's Vanishing Cream and Pond's Cold Cream.

It has been taken from an old advertisement which I am using for part of my English Language investigation. I need to identify subordinate clauses and different types of sentences in order to explore the level of formality used.

At first I thought it was a complex sentence, with a subordinate clause starting at 'that', but I'm not so sure.

Any help would be most appreciated,
Thanks in advance :)[/QUOT

***NOT A TEACHER***

Good afternoon.

(1) One of my books says: A complex sentence = one and only one main clause and at least one subordinate clause.

(2) You seem to be correct.

(3) Let's study your sentence:

(a) Therefore = A so-called transitional adverb that introduces the sentence.

(b) It is no wonder. = main clause.

(c) noun clause (subordinate clause) that is in apposition with "it" (explains what "it" actually is referring to).

(4) It (that the modern business girl ...Cold Cream) is no wonder.


Have a nice day!
 

mmasny

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(1) One of my books says: A complex sentence = one and only one main clause and at least one subordinate clause.
Hello, TheParser!
What does your book call a sentence that has more than just one main clause? In Polish, we still call them complex (złożone) - at least that's what they taught me in school. Of course, schools are very traditional so perhaps this is terminology is out of date?
 

Raymott

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Hello, TheParser!
What does your book call a sentence that has more than just one main clause? In Polish, we still call them complex (złożone) - at least that's what they taught me in school. Of course, schools are very traditional so perhaps this is terminology is out of date?
This called a 'compound sentence', and the sentences are typically joined by a conjunction. They contain two or more coordinate clauses.
"I stayed at the party but he went home." is a compound sentence.
So is, "I stayed at the party; he went home."

But I don't see why a complex sentence couldn't have two coordinate (main) clauses, one with a subordinate clause.
"I stayed at the party that was hosted by Jane, but John went home."
"I stayed at Jane's party but John moved on to a party that was hosted by Tom."

 

philo2009

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Hi I was wondering if anyone could help me identify what type of sentence this is please....

It is therefore no wonder that the modern business girl is a staunch advocate of the use of the two purest and most popular creams, Pond's Vanishing Cream and Pond's Cold Cream.

With the apparently missing word and comma inserted in bold type, it is a COMPLEX sentence. The main clause is 'It...wonder' and the remainder is a nominal subordinate, the deferred semantic subject.
 

mmasny

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This called a 'compound sentence', and the sentences are typically joined by a conjunction. They contain two or more coordinate clauses.
"I stayed at the party but he went home." is a compound sentence.
So is, "I stayed at the party; he went home."

But I don't see why a complex sentence couldn't have two coordinate (main) clauses, one with a subordinate clause.
"I stayed at the party that was hosted by Jane, but John went home."
"I stayed at Jane's party but John moved on to a party that was hosted by Tom."

That explains it quite well, as one should probably translate the word 'compound' to 'złożone' as well :)
 

corum

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..

It is therefore no wonder that the modern business girl is a staunch advocate of the use of the two purest and popular creams Pond's Vanishing Cream and Pond's Cold Cream.

The whole sentence is the matrix clause. Within the matrix clause is embedded a that-clause, a subordinate clause, that completes the meaning of 'wonder. The sentence is an SVC type. C = wonder + that-clause.
 

mmasny

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I had to check what this abbreviation means (now, it seems I didn't have to, but I was to lazy to think). So I'll post a link to an explanation, in case someone has this problem too :)
FiveBasicSentences
 

TheParser

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Hello, TheParser!
What does your book call a sentence that has more than just one main clause? In Polish, we still call them complex (złożone) - at least that's what they taught me in school. Of course, schools are very traditional so perhaps this is terminology is out of date?

***NOT A TEACHER***

mmasny, good morning.

(1) According to Professors Pence and Emery's A GRAMMAR OF PRESENT-DAY ENGLISH (1947): a sentence to be a complex sentence may not have more than one main clause; otherwise it would become a compound sentence. But it must have a minimum one subordinate clause.

(2) The learned gentlemen add, however, that some people use the term "complex-compound" to mean any compound sentence that contains a least one subordinate sentence.

(i) Birds fly, but fish swim. = simple-compound.
(ii) Birds fly (when the whim seizes them), but fish swim (only when they are hungry). = complex-compound.


(3) The professors admit their distaste for the term "complex-compound." They assert that every sentence is either simple, compound, or complex.

(4) Another favorite book (DESCRIPTIVE ENGLISH GRAMMAR, by Professors House and Harman, 1950) says:

(a) simple sentence: one subject and one predicate (either or both of which may be compound).

(b) complex sentence: one principal clause + one or more subordinate clauses.

(c) compound sentence: two or more independent clauses, either or both of which may contain one or more adjective, adverb, or noun clauses.

(d) If a compound sentence contains a dependent clause, it is SOMETIMES (my emphasis) called a complex-compound/ compound-complex sentence.

Thank you.`
 
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