Grammar: Sentence Level

Sentence-level grammar — syntax — examines how words are combined into phrases, clauses, and sentences. Understanding syntax is essential for analysing how texts create meaning through the arrangement and structure of language. This lesson covers the key syntactic concepts you need for AQA A-Level English Language.

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Sentence Types

Sentences are classified by their structural complexity:

Sentence Type	Structure	Example
Simple	One main (independent) clause	"The cat sat on the mat."
Compound	Two or more main clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so)	"The cat sat on the mat and the dog lay by the fire."
Complex	One main clause and one or more subordinate (dependent) clauses	"Although it was raining, the cat sat on the mat."
Compound-complex	Two or more main clauses and at least one subordinate clause	"The cat sat on the mat and the dog lay by the fire, although it was cold outside."

Key Definition: Simple sentence — a sentence containing one main clause. Compound sentence — a sentence containing two or more main clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions. Complex sentence — a sentence containing a main clause and at least one subordinate clause. Compound-complex sentence — a sentence containing two or more main clauses and at least one subordinate clause.

Analytical Significance of Sentence Types

• Short, simple sentences can create impact, directness, tension, or urgency. They are common in tabloid journalism, advertising, and moments of high drama in fiction.
• Long, complex sentences can convey nuance, qualification, and intellectual sophistication. They are common in academic writing, legal texts, and literary prose.
• Compound sentences create a sense of accumulation or coordination — events or ideas presented as equal in importance.
• Variation in sentence length and type creates rhythm and pace, preventing monotony and guiding the reader's attention.

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Clause Types

A clause is a group of words that contains (at minimum) a subject and a verb. Clauses are the building blocks of sentences.

Main (Independent) Clauses

A main clause can stand alone as a complete sentence. It expresses a complete thought.

• "She opened the door."
• "The report was published yesterday."

Subordinate (Dependent) Clauses

A subordinate clause cannot stand alone — it depends on a main clause for its meaning. Subordinate clauses are introduced by subordinating conjunctions (because, although, when, if, while, since, until, etc.) or relative pronouns (who, which, that, whose, whom).

Type of Subordinate Clause	Function	Example
Adverbial clause	Modifies the verb — provides information about time, reason, condition, concession, etc.	"She left because she was tired." / "If it rains, we'll stay inside."
Relative clause	Post-modifies a noun — provides additional information about a noun	"The man who lives next door is a teacher." / "The book, which I bought yesterday, is excellent."
Noun clause	Functions as a noun — can be subject, object, or complement	"What she said surprised everyone." / "I know that he is lying."

Key Definition: Subordination — the grammatical process of making one clause dependent on another, typically using subordinating conjunctions (because, although, if, when) or relative pronouns (who, which, that). Subordination creates hierarchical relationships between ideas.

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Phrase Types

A phrase is a group of words that functions as a single unit within a clause but does not contain both a subject and a finite verb.

Phrase Type	Head Word	Example	Function
Noun phrase (NP)	Noun or pronoun	"the very tall man in the blue coat"	Subject, object, complement
Verb phrase (VP)	Main verb (+ auxiliaries)	"has been carefully considering"	Predicate
Adjective phrase (AdjP)	Adjective	"extremely cold and wet"	Modifier, complement
Adverb phrase (AdvP)	Adverb	"very slowly indeed"	Modifier
Prepositional phrase (PP)	Preposition	"in the garden" / "under the old oak tree"	Adverbial, post-modifier

Noun Phrase Expansion

Noun phrases can be expanded through pre-modification and post-modification:

Component	Position	Example in "the very old house on the hill"
Determiner	Before modifiers	the
Pre-modifier	Before the head noun	very old
Head noun	Centre of the phrase	house
Post-modifier	After the head noun	on the hill

Heavily expanded noun phrases are a feature of formal, written language. They allow a great deal of information to be packed into a single grammatical unit: