The complex clause consists of two clauses, the second of which is subordinate to the first. Taken as a whole, however, this complex clause is manifestly coördinate with the two simple clauses, since the three form a series joined by coördinate conjunctions.
515. Further examples of compound complex sentences are:—
- 1. The people drove out King Athamas, because he had killed his child; and he roamed about in his misery, till he came to the Oracle in Delphi.—Kingsley.
- 2. Society is the stage on which manners are shown; novels are their literature.—Emerson.
- 3. We keep no bees, but if I lived in a hive I should scarcely have more of their music.—Cowper.
- 4. The same river ran on as it had run on before, but the cheerful faces that had once been reflected in its stream had passed away.—Froude.
- 5. There are some laws and customs in this empire very peculiar; and if they were not so directly contrary to those of my own dear country, I should be tempted to say a little in their justification.—Swift.
- 6. Here they arrived about noon, and Joseph proposed to Adams that they should rest awhile in this delightful place.—Fielding.
- 7. I never saw a busier person than she seemed to be; yet it was difficult to say what she did.—C. Brontë.
- 8. Malaga possessed a brave and numerous garrison, and the common people were active, hardy, and resolute; but the city was rich and commercial, and under the habitual control of opulent merchants, who dreaded the ruinous consequences of a siege.—Irving.
- 9. The Spaniards were not to be taken by surprise; and, before the barbarian horde had come within their lines, they opened such a deadly fire from their heavy guns, supported by the musketry and crossbows, that the assailants were compelled to fall back slowly, but fearfully mangled, to their former position.—Prescott.
- 10. Her cheeks were as pale as marble, but of a cold, unhealthy, ashen white; and my heart ached to think that they had been bleached, most probably, by bitter and continual tears.—Hood.
- 11. The hawk, having in spiral motion achieved the upper flight, fell like a thunderbolt on the raven, stunned him with the blow, clutched him in his talons, folded him in his wings, and, the hawk undermost, they tumbled down like a black ball, till within a short distance from the earth.—Trelawny.
In this sentence they were is understood after till.
VARIETIES OF THE COMPLEX SENTENCE
516. A complex sentence may be expanded either by compounding the main clause, or by increasing the number of subordinate clauses. Both methods may be used in the same sentence.
517. The independent (main) clause of a complex sentence may be compound.
- When they saw the ship, they shouted for joy and some of them burst into tears.
- As they turned down from the knoll to rejoin their comrades, the sun dipped and disappeared, and the woods fell instantly into the gravity and grayness of the early night.—Stevenson.
- The eye of the young monarch kindled and his dark cheek flushed with sudden anger, as he listened to proposals so humiliating.—Prescott.
- Sharpe was so hated in Scotland during his life, and his death won him so many friends, or pitying observers, that it is not easy to write of him without prejudice or favor.—A. Lang.
- As has been the case with many another good fellow of his nation, his life was tracked and his substance wasted by crowds of hungry beggars and lazy dependents.—Thackeray.
Note that the subordinate clause depends on the compound main clause, not upon either of its members.
Thus, in the first example, the subordinate clause (when they saw the ship) depends upon the compound main clause, they shouted for joy and some of them burst into tears. It is an adverbial modifier of both shouted and burst.