Ump to: SUBMISSION Value: 4 Where is the dependent clause in the following compound-complex sentence? When he was twelvę, John met a girl with a smile in her eyes, and he loved her his whole life.

O a. When he was twelve, O b. John met a girl O c. with a smile in her eyes, O d. and he loved her his whole life.​

The dependent clause in the sentence is:

a. When he was twelve.

Explanation:

First, let's review a couple of concepts:

- an independent clause has a subject and a predicate and it is able to stand alone as a sentence because it expresses a complete thought;

- a dependent clause also has a subject and a predicate, but it is not able to stand alone as a sentence. It does not express a full thought on its own. Dependent clauses begin with a subordinate conjunction (because, when, after, before, although, etc.)

A compound-complex sentence is formed by at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause. In the sentence we are analyzing here, the independent clauses are:

- John met a girl with a  smile in her eyes;

- And he loved her his whole life.

The dependent clause is the one that begins with the subordinate conjunction "when". Notice that it does not sound complete when we read it on its own:

- When he was twelve.

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