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Oxford Online English, English Sentence Structure - English Grammar Lesson

English Sentence Structure - English Grammar Lesson

Hi, I'm Olivier.

Welcome to Oxford Online English!

In this lesson, you can learn about sentence structure in English.

You'll learn how to construct all kinds of sentences in English, from the simplest

possible sentences, to long, complex sentences which contain many different ideas.

To begin, a question:

What's the simplest sentence you can make in English?

What does every sentence in English need?

Every sentence needs a verb.

The simplest sentence is an imperative, which means when you tell someone to do something.

For example:

Run!

Leave!

Work!

These are the simplest complete sentences you can make in English; they're just one

word long!

Of course, most sentences are longer than this.

Most sentences that are longer than one word also need a noun before the verb.

This noun is the subject.

With a subject plus a verb, you can make simple sentences like:

He runs.

She left.

They're working.

You can see that the verb can be in different forms: past or present, simple or continuous.

The verb form doesn't change the structure of the sentence.

These are all the same: subject plus verb.

Of course, these sentences aren't very interesting.

You can't say much with short sentences like these.

Let's add a little more information.

Take the sentence he runs.

What could you add after runs to make it longer?

You could add an adverb of place:

He runs around the park.

You could add an adverb of time:

He runs every morning.

You could add both:

He runs around the park every morning.

You could add an adverb of manner:

He runs slowly.

You can see that you have many choices, but your choices are also limited.

In this case, you can use different kinds of adverbs, but there are also things you

can't use.

For example, you can't use another verb after run, you can't use an adjective, and

you can't use a noun, or at least you can't use a noun with this meaning of run.

This is an important point, so let's look at it in more detail.

To build grammatically complete sentences in English, there's one important question:

what needs to come next?

For example, you saw the sentence he runs.

That's a complete sentence.

You can put a full stop after runs, and it's correct.

It's very basic, but it's correct.

What about these:

She likes He wants

We go

These aren't complete sentences.

Can you explain why not?

They aren't complete, very simply, because they aren't finished.

Look at the first sentence: She likes.

She likes…what?

She has to like something.

He wants…

What does he want?

You can't just ‘want', you have to want something.

We go…

Where?

At this point, we want to teach you a word: complement.

The complement is the thing you add after a verb to make a sentence complete.

A complement can have many different forms.

It can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb.

These things can be single words or phrases.

For example, when we say ‘noun', we also mean noun phrases.

So, table is a noun, and the wooden table which my grandmother gave me is also a noun.

Both nouns refer to one object—one table.

For this lesson, a noun can be one word, or a phrase.

Okay, let's practice.

Look at the first sentence: she likes.

How could you finish this?

What are the possible complements?

Pause the video and write down three endings for your sentence.

Try to use different ideas and structures.

Ready?

Let's look at some possible answers.

These are just our suggestions; of course there are many possibilities!

She likes strawberries.

She likes swimming.

She likes getting up before the sun rises.

She likes to listen to music while she works.

You can see that there's more than one possible complement: you can use a noun, a gerund (a

verb with -ing which acts like a noun), a gerund phrase, or an infinitive verb with

‘to'.

So, you have many choices!

However, like before, your choices are also limited.

Only certain structures are possible.

The idea of complements isn't just for the first verb in the sentence.

Many words need a complement.

For example, look at one of the sentences you just saw:

She likes getting up before the sun rises.

Technically, you can say She likes getting up.

It's a grammatically complete sentence, but you'd never say it.

Why not?

Because it doesn't make any sense.

You need more information.

She likes getting up… when?

Why?

How?

You need a complement after getting up to complete the idea.

She likes getting up before…

Before also needs a complement.

You can't stop there.

Before what?

She likes getting up before the sun….

This also doesn't work, because it doesn't make sense.

It doesn't make sense because the sun needs a complement.

Before the sun does what?

She likes getting up before the sun rises.

Ok, finally we have a sentence which is both grammatically complete and which communicates

meaning.

What should you remember from this?

Remember that when you use a particular word, you have limited choices in what kind of word

you use next.

To speak or write in clear, correct English, you don't just need to know English words.

You need to know what can come next.

For example, with a verb like like or want, it's not enough to know the verb.

You also need to know whether the verb needs a complement, and what complements are—or

aren't—possible.

This is why it's good to learn vocabulary in full phrases and sentences.

That way, you'll know how to use the words you learn to make sentences you can use in

your spoken or written English.

Using what you've seen up to now, you can build many simple English sentences.

Let's see how you can add more information and more detail to these simple sentences.

You can add information to a simple sentence in two ways: you can add adjectives or adverbs.

Let's look at an example, using a sentence we started before, but we didn't finish:

He wants…

Actually, you should do some work!

Pause the video, and finish this sentence in three different ways.

Start again when you have your answers.

Ready?

Here's our suggestion:

He wants to buy a car.

Now, let's add some description using adjectives and adverbs.

Can you see how you could add adjectives to this sentence?

You could add adjectives before the word car, like this:

He wants to buy a new car.

He wants to buy a second-hand car.

He wants to buy a bright red car.

What about adverbs?

Could you add adverbs to these sentences to add some details?

There are many possibilities; for example:

Apparently, he wants to buy a new car.

He wants to buy a second-hand car next month.

He wants to buy a bright red car for his new girlfriend.

You can see that adverbs can be single words or phrases.

Adjectives can go before the noun they describe, or after some verbs.

Adverbs are more complicated, and can go in many different positions.

However, this is the important point: using adjectives and adverbs like this doesn't

change whether a sentence is complete or not.

If you say:

He wants to buy a car.

That's a complete sentence.

You can add adjectives and adverbs to it to make it more detailed:

Apparently, he wants to buy a second-hand car for his new girlfriend.

However, if a sentence is incomplete, then you can't make it complete by adding adjectives

or adverbs:

He wants to buy…

This sentence is incomplete.

Adding adjectives and adverbs won't make it complete.

So, at this point, you can build a simple sentence.

You also hopefully understand something about complements and why they're important for

making complete sentences, and now you can also add description to a complete sentence

using adjectives and adverbs.

Let's see how you can combine these simple sentences into complex ones.

First, let's define some words.

A conjunction is something which joins two sentences or two parts of a sentence together.

Words like and, but, if, although, because or which are conjunctions.

A complex sentence contains two or more parts joined with a conjunction.

These parts are called clauses.

An independent clause expresses a complete idea, and could stand by itself.

A dependent clause would not make sense if it were by itself.

A dependent clause depends on an independent clause in the same sentence in order to have

meaning.

Don't worry if this is new—you don't need to remember everything right now.

You'll see lots of examples of these ideas in this section and the next section, too.

In this section, you're going to learn about complex sentences with two independent clauses.

Okay, enough abstract talk!

Let's see some examples:

He runs around the park every morning, so he's in pretty good shape.

She likes strawberries, but she hardly ever eats them.

You should write to her and thank her for the present.

These are simple examples of complex sentences.

Here's your recipe: independent clause + conjunction + independent clause.

You generally need a comma at the end of the first clause, before the conjunction, but

comma rules are quite flexible in English, so you won't always need a comma.

Look at the first example:

He runs around the park every morning, so he's in pretty good shape.

Which word is the conjunction?

The conjunction is so.

You can split this sentence into two full, meaningful sentences:

Let's look at one more:

She likes strawberries, but she hardly ever eats them.

Again, you can split this into two full sentences.

You might think that the second sentence

here isn't complete or doesn't make sense by itself.

As it is, you'd be right.

However, you can change them to strawberries, and then it's a complete, meaningful sentence:

But, she hardly ever eats strawberries.

You can keep adding conjunctions and clauses for as long as you want:

She likes strawberries, but she hardly ever eats them, and she doesn't earn much money,

so she has to be careful how much she spends on groceries, and fresh food is generally

more expensive than canned or frozen produce, so…

Of course, just because you can, it doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Sentences with too many clauses are difficult to follow, so it's generally better to limit

your complex sentences to two or, maximum, three clauses.

Now, you know how to build complex sentences using independent clauses.

What about dependent clauses?

Do you remember the definition of a dependent clause?

A dependent clause is a part of a sentence which would not make sense by itself.

Let's see an example:

She's taller than I am.

This short sentence has two clauses.

Can you see where the two clauses start and end, and which one is dependent?

The two clauses are:

She's taller.

And: Than I am.

They're linked with the conjunction than.

The second clause, than I am, is dependent.

It doesn't make sense by itself.

Let's see some other ways to build complex sentences with dependent clauses.

You can add a dependent clause with conjunctions like if, because, although, unless, or wherever.

For example:

If you're late, I'll leave without you.

He's broke because he spent all his money on beer.

Although she spends a lot of time at work, she doesn't get much done.

I won't do it unless you come with me.

We can meet wherever you want.

Often, you can change the order of the two clauses if you want, so you can say:

If you're late, I'll leave without you.

Or: I'll leave without you if you're late.

Notice that there's a comma between the two clauses if the dependent clause is first,

but not if the independent clause is first.

What's the difference between these complex sentences and the ones you saw in part four?

Here, you can't split the sentence in two.

Well, you can, but one of the two parts won't make sense:

If you're late.

I'll leave without you.

I'll leave without you is an independent clause, so it makes sense by itself.

But the other clause—if you're late—is dependent, and it doesn't make sense by

itself.

It needs something more to make it complete.

What other common ways are there to build complex sentences with dependent clauses?

Another common structure is relative clauses, using relative pronouns like who, which or

what to link two clauses.

For example:

That's the guy who shouted at me.

I have no idea what's going on.

They gave us a cake which was made from dried beetroot.

In these cases, the dependent clause goes after the independent clause.

Let's review what you've learned in this lesson.

You can build a very simple sentence, with just a verb:

Work!

You can add a subject and complement to make a simple sentence:

She works in a zoo.

You can use adjectives and adverbs to add description.

Apparently, she works in a private zoo.

You can make a complex sentence by adding a second independent clause, with a conjunction.

Apparently, she works in a private zoo, so she must know a lot about animals.

You can also make a complex sentence by adding a dependent clause, or even several dependent

clauses, again using conjunctions to connect them.

Apparently, she works in a private zoo, so she must know a lot about animals, which surprises

me because as far as I know she studied economics at university, although I guess I could be

wrong.

This is a big topic, and it will take you time to learn everything about these points.

Studying conjunctions and how they work can help you to build complex sentences which

are clear and correct.

Relative clauses are another useful topic if you want to improve your sentence grammar.

Learning about relative clauses can help you to connect your ideas in complex sentences.

It's also a good idea to study verb complements and learn what structures you can or can't

use after a verb.

Remember that a lot of sentence structure is being able to answer the question: “What

needs to come next?”

We hope this lesson was useful for you.

Check out our website for more free English lessons: Oxford Online English dot com.

Thanks for watching!

See you next time!

English Sentence Structure - English Grammar Lesson Englischer Satzbau - Lektion in englischer Grammatik English Sentence Structure - English Grammar Lesson Estructura de la oración en inglés - Lección de gramática inglesa ساختار جمله انگلیسی - درس گرامر انگلیسی Structure de la phrase en anglais - Leçon de grammaire anglaise Struttura della frase in inglese - Lezione di grammatica inglese 英語の文型 - 英文法レッスン 영어 문장 구조 - 영어 문법 수업 Engelse zinsbouw - Engelse grammaticales Angielska struktura zdań - Lekcja gramatyki języka angielskiego Estrutura da frase em inglês - Lição de gramática inglesa Структура английского предложения - Урок грамматики английского языка İngilizce Cümle Yapısı - İngilizce Dilbilgisi Dersi Структура англійського речення - Урок граматики англійської мови 英语句子结构 - 英语语法课 英語句子結構 - 英語語法課

Hi, I'm Olivier. Hola, soy Olivier.

Welcome to Oxford Online English! Bienvenido a Oxford Online English

In this lesson, you can learn about sentence structure in English. En esta lección aprenderás la estructura de las frases en inglés. Bu derste İngilizce cümle yapısı hakkında bilgi edinebilirsiniz.

You'll learn how to construct all kinds of sentences in English, from the simplest Aprenderás a construir todo tipo de frases en inglés, desde las más sencillas hasta las más simples. En basitinden, İngilizce'de her türlü cümleyi nasıl kuracağınızı öğreneceksiniz.

possible sentences, to long, complex sentences which contain many different ideas. a frases largas y complejas que contienen muchas ideas diferentes. olası cümlelerden, birçok farklı fikri içeren uzun, karmaşık cümlelere kadar.

To begin, a question: Para empezar, una pregunta:

What's the simplest sentence you can make in English?

What does every sentence in English need? ¿Qué necesitan todas las frases en inglés?

Every sentence needs a verb. Cada frase necesita un verbo.

The simplest sentence is an imperative, which means when you tell someone to do something. Der einfachste Satz ist ein Imperativ, was bedeutet, wenn Sie jemandem sagen, dass er etwas tun soll. La frase más sencilla es un imperativo, es decir, cuando se le dice a alguien que haga algo.

For example: Por ejemplo:

Run! ¡Corre!

Leave! Verlassen! ¡Vete!

Work! Arbeiten! ¡A trabajar!

These are the simplest complete sentences you can make in English; they're just one Estas son las frases completas más sencillas que se pueden hacer en inglés; son sólo una

word long! ¡palabra larga!

Of course, most sentences are longer than this. Por supuesto, la mayoría de las frases son más largas.

Most sentences that are longer than one word also need a noun before the verb. La mayoría de las frases de más de una palabra también necesitan un sustantivo antes del verbo.

This noun is the subject. Este sustantivo es el sujeto.

With a subject plus a verb, you can make simple sentences like: Con un sujeto y un verbo, puedes hacer frases sencillas como:

He runs. Corre.

She left. Se fue.

They're working. Están trabajando.

You can see that the verb can be in different forms: past or present, simple or continuous. Puedes ver que el verbo puede tener diferentes formas: pasado o presente, simple o continuo.

The verb form doesn't change the structure of the sentence. Die Verbform verändert die Satzstruktur nicht. La forma verbal no cambia la estructura de la frase.

These are all the same: subject plus verb. Son todos iguales: sujeto más verbo.

Of course, these sentences aren't very interesting. Por supuesto, estas frases no son muy interesantes.

You can't say much with short sentences like these. No se puede decir mucho con frases cortas como éstas.

Let's add a little more information. Lassen Sie uns ein wenig mehr Informationen hinzufügen. Añadamos un poco más de información.

Take the sentence he runs. Toma la frase que ejecuta.

What could you add after runs to make it longer? ¿Qué podrías añadir después de las carreras para alargarlo?

You could add an adverb of place: Sie könnten ein Ortsadverb hinzufügen: Podrías añadir un adverbio de lugar:

He runs around the park. Corre por el parque.

You could add an adverb of time: Podrías añadir un adverbio de tiempo:

He runs every morning. Corre todas las mañanas.

You could add both: Podrías añadir ambos:

He runs around the park every morning. Corre por el parque todas las mañanas.

You could add an adverb of manner: Sie könnten ein Adverb der Art und Weise hinzufügen: Podrías añadir un adverbio de modo:

He runs slowly. Corre lentamente.

You can see that you have many choices, but your choices are also limited. Sie können sehen, dass Sie viele Möglichkeiten haben, aber Ihre Möglichkeiten sind auch begrenzt. Puedes ver que tienes muchas opciones, pero tus opciones también son limitadas.

In this case, you can use different kinds of adverbs, but there are also things you En este caso, puedes utilizar diferentes tipos de adverbios, pero también hay cosas que puedes

can't use. no puede usar.

For example, you can't use another verb after run, you can't use an adjective, and Zum Beispiel können Sie nach run kein anderes Verb verwenden, Sie können kein Adjektiv verwenden und Por ejemplo, no se puede utilizar otro verbo después de correr, no se puede utilizar un adjetivo y

you can't use a noun, or at least you can't use a noun with this meaning of run. Sie können kein Substantiv verwenden, oder zumindest können Sie kein Substantiv mit dieser Bedeutung von laufen verwenden. no puedes usar un sustantivo, o al menos no puedes usar un sustantivo con este significado de correr.

This is an important point, so let's look at it in more detail. Dies ist ein wichtiger Punkt, also schauen wir uns das genauer an. Se trata de un punto importante, así que analicémoslo con más detalle.

To build grammatically complete sentences in English, there's one important question: Para construir frases gramaticalmente completas en inglés, hay una cuestión importante:

what needs to come next? was muss als nächstes kommen? ¿qué debe venir después?

For example, you saw the sentence he runs. Por ejemplo, has visto la frase que pone.

That's a complete sentence. Es una frase completa.

You can put a full stop after runs, and it's correct. Sie können nach Läufen einen Punkt setzen, und es ist richtig. Puedes poner un punto después de las carreras, y es correcto.

It's very basic, but it's correct. Es ist sehr einfach, aber es ist richtig. Es muy básico, pero es correcto.

What about these: Was ist mit diesen: ¿Qué tal estos?

She likes He wants A ella le gusta Él quiere

We go Vamos

These aren't complete sentences. Das sind keine vollständigen Sätze. No son frases completas.

Can you explain why not? ¿Puede explicar por qué no?

They aren't complete, very simply, because they aren't finished. No están completos, sencillamente, porque no están acabados.

Look at the first sentence: She likes. Mira la primera frase: Le gusta.

She likes…what? Le gusta... ¿qué?

She has to like something. Irgendwas muss ihr gefallen. Tiene que gustarle algo.

He wants… Quiere...

What does he want? ¿Qué es lo que quiere?

You can't just ‘want', you have to want something. No puedes simplemente "querer", tienes que querer algo.

We go… Vamos...

Where? ¿dónde?

At this point, we want to teach you a word: complement. Llegados a este punto, queremos enseñarte una palabra: complemento.

The complement is the thing you add after a verb to make a sentence complete. El complemento es lo que se añade después de un verbo para completar una frase.

A complement can have many different forms. Un complemento puede tener muchas formas diferentes.

It can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or an adverb. Puede ser un sustantivo, un verbo, un adjetivo o un adverbio.

These things can be single words or phrases. Pueden ser palabras sueltas o frases.

For example, when we say ‘noun', we also mean noun phrases. Por ejemplo, cuando decimos "sustantivo", también nos referimos a frases sustantivadas.

So, table is a noun, and the wooden table which my grandmother gave me is also a noun. Así, mesa es un sustantivo, y la mesa de madera que me regaló mi abuela también es un sustantivo.

Both nouns refer to one object—one table. Ambos sustantivos se refieren a un objeto: una mesa.

For this lesson, a noun can be one word, or a phrase. Para esta lección, un sustantivo puede ser una palabra o una frase.

Okay, let's practice. Bien, practiquemos.

Look at the first sentence: she likes. Mira la primera frase: le gusta.

How could you finish this? ¿Cómo pudiste terminar esto?

What are the possible complements? ¿Cuáles son los posibles complementos?

Pause the video and write down three endings for your sentence. Haz una pausa en el vídeo y escribe tres terminaciones para tu frase.

Try to use different ideas and structures. Intenta utilizar ideas y estructuras diferentes.

Ready? ¿Preparado?

Let's look at some possible answers. Veamos algunas posibles respuestas.

These are just our suggestions; of course there are many possibilities! Estas son sólo nuestras sugerencias; por supuesto, ¡hay muchas posibilidades!

She likes strawberries. Le gustan las fresas.

She likes swimming. Le gusta nadar.

She likes getting up before the sun rises. Sie steht gerne auf, bevor die Sonne aufgeht. Le gusta levantarse antes de que salga el sol.

She likes to listen to music while she works. Sie hört gerne Musik, während sie arbeitet. Le gusta escuchar música mientras trabaja.

You can see that there's more than one possible complement: you can use a noun, a gerund (a Puedes ver que hay más de un complemento posible: puedes usar un sustantivo, un gerundio (un

verb with -ing which acts like a noun), a gerund phrase, or an infinitive verb with Verb mit -ing, das sich wie ein Substantiv verhält), ein Gerundium oder ein Infinitivverb mit verbo con -ing que actúa como un sustantivo), una frase de gerundio o un verbo en infinitivo con

‘to'. "a".

So, you have many choices! Así que tiene muchas opciones.

However, like before, your choices are also limited. Ihre Auswahlmöglichkeiten sind jedoch nach wie vor begrenzt. Sin embargo, como antes, tus opciones también son limitadas.

Only certain structures are possible. Es sind nur bestimmte Strukturen möglich. Sólo son posibles determinadas estructuras.

The idea of complements isn't just for the first verb in the sentence. Die Idee der Ergänzungen gilt nicht nur für das erste Verb im Satz. La idea de los complementos no es sólo para el primer verbo de la frase.

Many words need a complement. Muchas palabras necesitan un complemento.

For example, look at one of the sentences you just saw: Schauen Sie sich zum Beispiel einen der Sätze an, die Sie gerade gesehen haben: Por ejemplo, fíjate en una de las frases que acabas de ver:

She likes getting up before the sun rises. Le gusta levantarse antes de que salga el sol.

Technically, you can say She likes getting up. Técnicamente, se puede decir que le gusta levantarse.

It's a grammatically complete sentence, but you'd never say it. It's a grammatically complete sentence, but you'd never say it. Es una frase gramaticalmente completa, pero nunca la dirías.

Why not? ¿Por qué no?

Because it doesn't make any sense. Weil es keinen Sinn macht. Porque no tiene ningún sentido.

You need more information. Necesita más información.

She likes getting up… when? Le gusta levantarse... ¿cuándo?

Why? ¿Por qué?

How? ¿Cómo?

You need a complement after getting up to complete the idea. Necesitas un complemento después de levantarte para completar la idea.

She likes getting up before… Le gusta levantarse antes...

Before also needs a complement. Antes también necesita un complemento.

You can't stop there. Sie können dort nicht aufhören. No puedes detenerte ahí.

Before what? Vor was? ¿Antes de qué?

She likes getting up before the sun…. Le gusta levantarse antes que el sol....

This also doesn't work, because it doesn't make sense. Esto tampoco funciona, porque no tiene sentido.

It doesn't make sense because the sun needs a complement. No tiene sentido porque el sol necesita un complemento.

Before the sun does what? ¿Antes de que el sol haga qué?

She likes getting up before the sun rises. Le gusta levantarse antes de que salga el sol.

Ok, finally we have a sentence which is both grammatically complete and which communicates Bien, por fin tenemos una frase gramaticalmente completa y que comunica

meaning. significado.

What should you remember from this? ¿Qué debe recordar de esto?

Remember that when you use a particular word, you have limited choices in what kind of word Recuerda que cuando utilizas una palabra concreta, tienes opciones limitadas en cuanto al tipo de palabra

you use next. que utilizas a continuación.

To speak or write in clear, correct English, you don't just need to know English words. Para hablar o escribir en inglés de forma clara y correcta, no basta con saber palabras en inglés.

You need to know what can come next. Sie müssen wissen, was als nächstes kommen kann. Necesitas saber qué puede venir después.

For example, with a verb like like or want, it's not enough to know the verb. Bei einem Verb wie like oder want reicht es beispielsweise nicht aus, das Verb zu kennen. Por ejemplo, con un verbo como gustar o querer, no basta con conocer el verbo.

You also need to know whether the verb needs a complement, and what complements are—or También hay que saber si el verbo necesita un complemento, y qué son los complementos -o

aren't—possible. no son posibles.

This is why it's good to learn vocabulary in full phrases and sentences. Deshalb ist es gut, Vokabeln in ganzen Sätzen und Sätzen zu lernen. Por eso es bueno aprender el vocabulario en frases y oraciones completas.

That way, you'll know how to use the words you learn to make sentences you can use in Así, sabrás cómo utilizar las palabras que aprendas para hacer frases que puedas usar en

your spoken or written English. su inglés hablado o escrito.

Using what you've seen up to now, you can build many simple English sentences. Mit dem, was Sie bisher gesehen haben, können Sie viele einfache englische Sätze bilden. Con lo que has visto hasta ahora, puedes construir muchas frases sencillas en inglés.

Let's see how you can add more information and more detail to these simple sentences. Mal sehen, wie Sie diesen einfachen Sätzen mehr Informationen und mehr Details hinzufügen können. Veamos cómo puedes añadir más información y más detalles a estas frases sencillas.

You can add information to a simple sentence in two ways: you can add adjectives or adverbs. Puedes añadir información a una frase simple de dos maneras: añadiendo adjetivos o adverbios.

Let's look at an example, using a sentence we started before, but we didn't finish: Schauen wir uns ein Beispiel an, indem wir einen Satz verwenden, den wir zuvor begonnen, aber nicht beendet haben: Veamos un ejemplo, utilizando una frase que empezamos antes, pero que no terminamos:

He wants… Quiere...

Actually, you should do some work! Eigentlich solltest du etwas arbeiten! En realidad, ¡deberías trabajar un poco!

Pause the video, and finish this sentence in three different ways. Haz una pausa en el vídeo y termina esta frase de tres formas diferentes.

Start again when you have your answers. Vuelve a empezar cuando tengas las respuestas.

Ready? ¿Preparado?

Here's our suggestion: Esta es nuestra sugerencia:

He wants to buy a car. Quiere comprarse un coche.

Now, let's add some description using adjectives and adverbs.

Can you see how you could add adjectives to this sentence? ¿Ves cómo podrías añadir adjetivos a esta frase?

You could add adjectives before the word car, like this: Podrías añadir adjetivos antes de la palabra coche, así:

He wants to buy a new car. Quiere comprarse un coche nuevo.

He wants to buy a second-hand car. Quiere comprar un coche de segunda mano.

He wants to buy a bright red car. Quiere comprarse un coche rojo brillante.

What about adverbs? ¿Y los adverbios?

Could you add adverbs to these sentences to add some details? ¿Podrías añadir adverbios a estas frases para añadir algunos detalles?

There are many possibilities; for example: Hay muchas posibilidades; por ejemplo:

Apparently, he wants to buy a new car. Al parecer, quiere comprar un coche nuevo.

He wants to buy a second-hand car next month. Quiere comprarse un coche de segunda mano el mes que viene.

He wants to buy a bright red car for his new girlfriend. Quiere comprar un coche rojo brillante para su nueva novia.

You can see that adverbs can be single words or phrases. Puedes ver que los adverbios pueden ser palabras sueltas o frases.

Adjectives can go before the noun they describe, or after some verbs. Adjektive können vor dem Substantiv stehen, das sie beschreiben, oder nach einigen Verben. Los adjetivos pueden ir delante del sustantivo que describen o después de algunos verbos.

Adverbs are more complicated, and can go in many different positions. Los adverbios son más complicados y pueden ir en muchas posiciones distintas.

However, this is the important point: using adjectives and adverbs like this doesn't Sin embargo, este es el punto importante: el uso de adjetivos y adverbios de esta manera no

change whether a sentence is complete or not. ändern, ob ein Satz vollständig ist oder nicht. cambiar si una frase está completa o no.

If you say: Si tú lo dices:

He wants to buy a car. Quiere comprarse un coche.

That's a complete sentence. Es una frase completa.

You can add adjectives and adverbs to it to make it more detailed: Puedes añadirle adjetivos y adverbios para que sea más detallado:

Apparently, he wants to buy a second-hand car for his new girlfriend. Al parecer, quiere comprar un coche de segunda mano para su nueva novia.

However, if a sentence is incomplete, then you can't make it complete by adding adjectives Sin embargo, si una frase está incompleta, no se puede completar añadiendo adjetivos.

or adverbs: o adverbios:

He wants to buy… Quiere comprar...

This sentence is incomplete. Esta frase está incompleta.

Adding adjectives and adverbs won't make it complete. Añadir adjetivos y adverbios no lo hará completo.

So, at this point, you can build a simple sentence. Así que, llegados a este punto, puedes construir una frase sencilla.

You also hopefully understand something about complements and why they're important for Sie verstehen hoffentlich auch etwas über Ergänzungen und warum sie wichtig sind Espero que también entienda algo sobre los complementos y por qué son importantes para

making complete sentences, and now you can also add description to a complete sentence hacer frases completas, y ahora también puedes añadir una descripción a una frase completa

using adjectives and adverbs. utilizando adjetivos y adverbios.

Let's see how you can combine these simple sentences into complex ones. Mal sehen, wie Sie diese einfachen Sätze zu komplexen kombinieren können. Veamos cómo combinar estas frases simples para convertirlas en complejas.

First, let's define some words. En primer lugar, definamos algunas palabras.

A conjunction is something which joins two sentences or two parts of a sentence together. Una conjunción es algo que une dos frases o dos partes de una frase.

Words like and, but, if, although, because or which are conjunctions. Wörter wie und, aber, wenn, obwohl, weil oder welche sind Konjunktionen. Palabras como y, pero, si, aunque, porque o que son conjunciones.

A complex sentence contains two or more parts joined with a conjunction. Ein komplexer Satz enthält zwei oder mehr Teile, die durch eine Konjunktion verbunden sind. Una frase compleja contiene dos o más partes unidas por una conjunción.

These parts are called clauses. Diese Teile werden Klauseln genannt. Estas partes se denominan cláusulas.

An independent clause expresses a complete idea, and could stand by itself. Ein unabhängiger Satz drückt eine vollständige Idee aus und könnte für sich allein stehen. Una cláusula independiente expresa una idea completa y puede sostenerse por sí misma.

A dependent clause would not make sense if it were by itself. Ein Nebensatz würde keinen Sinn machen, wenn er allein wäre. Una cláusula dependiente no tendría sentido si estuviera sola.

A dependent clause depends on an independent clause in the same sentence in order to have Ein abhängiger Satz hängt von einem unabhängigen Satz im selben Satz ab, um zu haben Una cláusula dependiente depende de una cláusula independiente en la misma frase para tener

meaning. significado.

Don't worry if this is new—you don't need to remember everything right now. Machen Sie sich keine Sorgen, wenn dies neu ist – Sie müssen sich jetzt nicht an alles erinnern. No se preocupe si esto es nuevo: no necesita recordarlo todo ahora mismo.

You'll see lots of examples of these ideas in this section and the next section, too. Verás muchos ejemplos de estas ideas en esta sección y también en la siguiente.

In this section, you're going to learn about complex sentences with two independent clauses. En esta sección aprenderás sobre las oraciones complejas con dos cláusulas independientes.

Okay, enough abstract talk! Okay, genug abstraktes Gerede! Vale, ¡basta de hablar en abstracto!

Let's see some examples: Veamos algunos ejemplos:

He runs around the park every morning, so he's in pretty good shape. Er läuft jeden Morgen im Park herum, also ist er ziemlich gut in Form. Corre por el parque todas las mañanas, así que está en buena forma.

She likes strawberries, but she hardly ever eats them. Sie mag Erdbeeren, aber sie isst sie kaum. Le gustan las fresas, pero casi nunca las come. Она любит клубнику, но почти никогда ее не ест.

You should write to her and thank her for the present. Deberías escribirle y darle las gracias por el regalo.

These are simple examples of complex sentences. Dies sind einfache Beispiele für komplexe Sätze. Estos son ejemplos sencillos de frases complejas.

Here's your recipe: independent clause + conjunction + independent clause. Hier ist Ihr Rezept: unabhängiger Satz + Konjunktion + unabhängiger Satz. Aquí tienes la receta: cláusula independiente + conjunción + cláusula independiente.

You generally need a comma at the end of the first clause, before the conjunction, but Generalmente se necesita una coma al final de la primera cláusula, antes de la conjunción, pero

comma rules are quite flexible in English, so you won't always need a comma. Las reglas de la coma son bastante flexibles en inglés, por lo que no siempre necesitarás una coma.

Look at the first example: Fíjate en el primer ejemplo:

He runs around the park every morning, so he's in pretty good shape. Corre por el parque todas las mañanas, así que está en buena forma.

Which word is the conjunction? ¿Qué palabra es la conjunción?

The conjunction is so. La conjunción es así.

You can split this sentence into two full, meaningful sentences: Sie können diesen Satz in zwei vollständige, aussagekräftige Sätze aufteilen: Puedes dividir esta frase en dos frases completas y con sentido:

Let's look at one more: Veamos una más:

She likes strawberries, but she hardly ever eats them. Sie mag Erdbeeren, aber sie isst sie kaum. Le gustan las fresas, pero casi nunca las come.

Again, you can split this into two full sentences. De nuevo, puedes dividir esto en dos frases completas.

You might think that the second sentence Se podría pensar que la segunda frase

here isn't complete or doesn't make sense by itself. hier nicht vollständig ist oder für sich genommen keinen Sinn ergibt. aquí no está completa o no tiene sentido por sí misma.

As it is, you'd be right. So wie es ist, hast du recht. Tal como están las cosas, tendrías razón.

However, you can change them to strawberries, and then it's a complete, meaningful sentence: Sin embargo, puedes cambiarlas por fresas, y entonces es una frase completa y con sentido:

But, she hardly ever eats strawberries. Aber sie isst kaum Erdbeeren. Pero casi nunca come fresas.

You can keep adding conjunctions and clauses for as long as you want: Sie können so lange Konjunktionen und Klauseln hinzufügen, wie Sie möchten: Puedes seguir añadiendo conjunciones y cláusulas todo el tiempo que quieras:

She likes strawberries, but she hardly ever eats them, and she doesn't earn much money, Sie mag Erdbeeren, aber sie isst sie kaum, und sie verdient nicht viel Geld, Le gustan las fresas, pero casi nunca las come, y no gana mucho dinero,

so she has to be careful how much she spends on groceries, and fresh food is generally Daher muss sie vorsichtig sein, wie viel sie für Lebensmittel ausgibt, und frische Lebensmittel sind es im Allgemeinen por lo que tiene que tener cuidado con lo que gasta en comestibles, y los alimentos frescos son generalmente

more expensive than canned or frozen produce, so… teurer als Dosen- oder Tiefkühlprodukte, also … más caros que los productos enlatados o congelados, así que...

Of course, just because you can, it doesn't mean it's a good idea. Nur weil man es kann, heißt das natürlich noch lange nicht, dass es eine gute Idee ist. Por supuesto, que se pueda no significa que sea una buena idea.

Sentences with too many clauses are difficult to follow, so it's generally better to limit Las frases con demasiadas cláusulas son difíciles de seguir, por lo que es mejor limitarlas.

your complex sentences to two or, maximum, three clauses. sus frases complejas a dos o, como máximo, tres cláusulas.

Now, you know how to build complex sentences using independent clauses. Jetzt wissen Sie, wie Sie komplexe Sätze mit unabhängigen Klauseln bilden. Ahora ya sabes cómo construir frases complejas utilizando cláusulas independientes.

What about dependent clauses? Was ist mit Nebensätzen? ¿Y las cláusulas dependientes?

Do you remember the definition of a dependent clause? Erinnern Sie sich an die Definition eines Nebensatzes? ¿Recuerdas la definición de cláusula dependiente?

A dependent clause is a part of a sentence which would not make sense by itself. Una oración dependiente es una parte de una frase que no tendría sentido por sí sola.

Let's see an example: Veamos un ejemplo:

She's taller than I am. Sie ist größer als ich. Es más alta que yo.

This short sentence has two clauses. Esta frase corta tiene dos cláusulas.

Can you see where the two clauses start and end, and which one is dependent? ¿Puedes ver dónde empiezan y acaban las dos cláusulas, y cuál de ellas es dependiente?

The two clauses are: Las dos cláusulas son:

She's taller. Es más alta.

And: Than I am. Y: Que yo.

They're linked with the conjunction than. Están unidos con la conjunción que.

The second clause, than I am, is dependent. La segunda cláusula, que soy, es dependiente.

It doesn't make sense by itself. An sich ergibt es keinen Sinn. No tiene sentido por sí mismo.

Let's see some other ways to build complex sentences with dependent clauses. Veamos otras formas de construir frases complejas con cláusulas dependientes.

You can add a dependent clause with conjunctions like if, because, although, unless, or wherever. Puedes añadir una cláusula dependiente con conjunciones como if, because, although, unless o wherever.

For example: Por ejemplo:

If you're late, I'll leave without you. Wenn du zu spät kommst, gehe ich ohne dich. Si llegas tarde, me iré sin ti.

He's broke because he spent all his money on beer. Er ist pleite, weil er sein ganzes Geld für Bier ausgegeben hat. Está arruinado porque gastó todo su dinero en cerveza.

Although she spends a lot of time at work, she doesn't get much done. Obwohl sie viel Zeit bei der Arbeit verbringt, schafft sie nicht viel. Aunque pasa mucho tiempo en el trabajo, no consigue hacer gran cosa.

I won't do it unless you come with me. Ich werde es nicht tun, es sei denn, du kommst mit mir. No lo haré a menos que vengas conmigo.

We can meet wherever you want. Wir können uns treffen, wo immer Sie wollen. Podemos reunirnos donde quieras.

Often, you can change the order of the two clauses if you want, so you can say: Oft können Sie die Reihenfolge der beiden Klauseln ändern, wenn Sie möchten, sodass Sie sagen können: A menudo, puedes cambiar el orden de las dos cláusulas si quieres, así que puedes decir:

If you're late, I'll leave without you. Si llegas tarde, me iré sin ti.

Or: I'll leave without you if you're late. O: Me iré sin ti si llegas tarde.

Notice that there's a comma between the two clauses if the dependent clause is first, Beachten Sie, dass zwischen den beiden Sätzen ein Komma steht, wenn der abhängige Satz an erster Stelle steht. Observa que hay una coma entre las dos cláusulas si la cláusula dependiente es la primera,

but not if the independent clause is first. pero no si la cláusula independiente está en primer lugar.

What's the difference between these complex sentences and the ones you saw in part four? Was ist der Unterschied zwischen diesen komplexen Sätzen und denen, die Sie in Teil vier gesehen haben? ¿Qué diferencia hay entre estas frases complejas y las que has visto en la cuarta parte?

Here, you can't split the sentence in two. Aquí, no puedes dividir la frase en dos.

Well, you can, but one of the two parts won't make sense: Nun, Sie können, aber einer der beiden Teile ergibt keinen Sinn: Bueno, puedes, pero una de las dos partes no tendrá sentido:

If you're late. Si llegas tarde.

I'll leave without you. Ich gehe ohne dich. Me iré sin ti.

I'll leave without you is an independent clause, so it makes sense by itself. Ich gehe ohne dich ist eine unabhängige Klausel, also ergibt es für sich genommen Sinn. Me iré sin ti es una cláusula independiente, por lo que tiene sentido por sí misma.

But the other clause—if you're late—is dependent, and it doesn't make sense by Pero la otra cláusula -si llegas tarde- es dependiente, y no tiene sentido por

itself. sí mismo.

It needs something more to make it complete. Necesita algo más para completarse.

What other common ways are there to build complex sentences with dependent clauses? Welche anderen gängigen Methoden gibt es, um komplexe Sätze mit Nebensätzen zu bilden? ¿Qué otras formas habituales hay de construir oraciones complejas con cláusulas dependientes?

Another common structure is relative clauses, using relative pronouns like who, which or Eine weitere übliche Struktur sind Relativsätze, die Relativpronomen wie who, which oder verwenden Otra estructura común son las oraciones de relativo, que utilizan pronombres relativos como who, which o

what to link two clauses. qué unir dos cláusulas.

For example: Por ejemplo:

That's the guy who shouted at me. Ese es el tipo que me gritó.

I have no idea what's going on. Ich habe keine Ahnung, was los ist. No tengo ni idea de lo que está pasando.

They gave us a cake which was made from dried beetroot. Nos dieron un pastel que estaba hecho de remolacha seca.

In these cases, the dependent clause goes after the independent clause. En estos casos, la cláusula dependiente va después de la independiente.

Let's review what you've learned in this lesson. Repasemos lo que has aprendido en esta lección.

You can build a very simple sentence, with just a verb: Puedes construir una frase muy sencilla, con sólo un verbo:

Work! ¡A trabajar!

You can add a subject and complement to make a simple sentence: Puedes añadir un sujeto y un complemento para formar una frase simple:

She works in a zoo. Trabaja en un zoo.

You can use adjectives and adverbs to add description. Puedes utilizar adjetivos y adverbios para añadir una descripción.

Apparently, she works in a private zoo. Offenbar arbeitet sie in einem privaten Zoo. Al parecer, trabaja en un zoo privado.

You can make a complex sentence by adding a second independent clause, with a conjunction. Puedes hacer una frase compleja añadiendo una segunda cláusula independiente, con una conjunción.

Apparently, she works in a private zoo, so she must know a lot about animals. Al parecer, trabaja en un zoo privado, así que debe saber mucho de animales.

You can also make a complex sentence by adding a dependent clause, or even several dependent También puede crear una frase compleja añadiendo una cláusula dependiente, o incluso varias cláusulas dependientes.

clauses, again using conjunctions to connect them. cláusulas, utilizando de nuevo conjunciones para conectarlas.

Apparently, she works in a private zoo, so she must know a lot about animals, which surprises Anscheinend arbeitet sie in einem privaten Zoo, also muss sie viel über Tiere wissen, was überrascht Al parecer, trabaja en un zoo privado, así que debe saber mucho de animales, lo que sorprende

me because as far as I know she studied economics at university, although I guess I could be porque hasta donde yo sé estudió economía en la universidad, aunque supongo que podría ser

wrong. mal.

This is a big topic, and it will take you time to learn everything about these points. Este es un gran tema, y le llevará tiempo aprenderlo todo sobre estos puntos.

Studying conjunctions and how they work can help you to build complex sentences which Estudiar las conjunciones y su funcionamiento puede ayudarte a construir frases complejas que

are clear and correct. son claras y correctas.

Relative clauses are another useful topic if you want to improve your sentence grammar. Las oraciones de relativo son otro tema útil si quieres mejorar la gramática de tus frases.

Learning about relative clauses can help you to connect your ideas in complex sentences. Aprender las oraciones de relativo puede ayudarte a conectar ideas en oraciones complejas.

It's also a good idea to study verb complements and learn what structures you can or can't También es una buena idea estudiar los complementos de los verbos y aprender qué estructuras puedes o no puedes

use after a verb. utilizar después de un verbo.

Remember that a lot of sentence structure is being able to answer the question: “What Recuerda que gran parte de la estructura de las frases consiste en ser capaz de responder a la pregunta: "¿Qué

needs to come next?” tiene que venir después?"

We hope this lesson was useful for you. Esperamos que esta lección le haya sido útil.

Check out our website for more free English lessons: Oxford Online English dot com. Visita nuestro sitio web para ver más clases de inglés gratuitas: Oxford Online English punto com.

Thanks for watching! Gracias por vernos.

See you next time! Hasta la próxima.