Mastering Compound Sentence Structures

Classification of Compound Sentences

According to the syntactic relations between propositions, compound sentences are classified as:

Maintain a relationship of equality (neither depends on the other).
If separated, they function as independent sentences.
They are joined by a non-coordinating link (not part of either of the two sentences).

They consist of two clauses that have a relation of dependence: a main clause and a subordinate clause.
A subordinate clause lacks syntactic independence; therefore, it cannot function in isolation from the rest of the sentence.
They are joined by a subordinating link.
The clause cannot function as an independent sentence.

Copulative: Join by adding their meanings (e.g., and/e, ni).
Alternative: Express alternative actions that cannot be concurrent (e.g., o/u, bien).
Distributive: Indicate alternating actions (e.g., ya… ya, bien… bien, uno… otro, este… aquel).
Example: Sometimes laughs, sometimes cries.
Adversative: One of the clauses indicates opposition or difficulty in fulfilling the other (e.g., but, however, nevertheless, rather).
- Partial: You look, but you don’t see.
- Total: I won’t go to the game, but I’ll stay home.
Explanatory: One of the clauses explains or clarifies the meaning of the other (e.g., that is, in other words).

According to their role relative to the principal clause, we can distinguish three main types of subordinate clauses: noun, adjective, and adverbial.

Adjective: The film that won was Spanish (introduced by: que, quien, el cual, cuyo).
Noun: I said I will be late (introduced by: que, si).
Interrogative: Asks a question (introduced by: si, qué, quién, cuál, dónde, cuándo, cómo).
- Direct: Who did you get?
- Indirect: He asked who had arrived.
Adjectival Noun: Those who arrive early will have a better place (introduced by: article + que, quien, como).
Adverbial: (e.g., where, as, according to, because).
- Proper: He parked where you told us.
- Improper: It was expected soon because you, Carlos, were expected.

They can be replaced by an adjective.
They are introduced by a subordinating nexus, which is always a relative (pronoun, adjective, or adverb).
They complement a noun in the main clause (called the antecedent), which is the same noun or noun phrase that the relative clause replaces.
They always function as a noun complement (CN) to the antecedent.

QUE
- It is the most commonly used link to introduce subordinate adjective clauses.
- It may be preceded by an article and a preposition.
- It may be replaced by forms like el cual, la cual, los cuales, las cuales.
QUIEN/QUIENES
- They refer only to people.
- They may be preceded by a preposition, but not an article.
- They vary in number.
EL/LA/LO CUAL, LOS/LAS CUALES
- They are always preceded by a definite article.
- They may be preceded by a preposition.
- They can often replace que.
- They vary in number and gender.
CUYO/CUYA/CUYOS/CUYAS
- They have a possessive value, indicating that the noun that follows refers to a thing or person belonging to the antecedent.
- They agree in gender and number with the noun they accompany, not the antecedent.
- They function as a noun complement (CN) to the noun they modify.
DONDE/CUANDO/COMO
- They have no tonic accent and are written without a tilde.
- Sometimes they can be replaced by relative pronouns preceded by prepositions, and, like them, they have an antecedent.
- They function as an adverbial complement (CA) in the clause they introduce.