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THE RELATIVE PRONOUN 97 LESSON XXXVIII THE RELATIVE PRONOUN AND THE INTERROGATIVE PRONOUN 219. Sentences are simple, compound, or complex.

a. A simple sentence is a sentence containing but one statement, that is, one subject and one predicate: The Romans approached the town.

b. A compound sentence is a sentence containing two or more independent statements: The Romans approached the town | and | the enemy fled.

An independent statement is one that can stand alone; it does not depend upon another statement.

c. A complex sentence is a sentence containing one independent statement and one or more dependent statements: When the Romans approached the town | the enemy fled.

A dependent or subordinate statement is one that depends on or qualifies another statement; thus the enemy fled is independent, and when the Romans approached the town is dependent or subordinate.

d. The separate statements in a compound or complex sentence are called clauses. In a complex sentence the independent statement is called the main clause and the dependent statement the subordinate clause.

220. Examine the complex sentence

Here are two clauses:


 * a. The main clause, The Romans killed the men
 * b. The subordinate clause, who were taken

The word who is a pronoun, for it takes the place of the noun men. It also connects the subordinate clause who were taken with the noun men. Hence the clause is an adjective clause. A pronoun that connects an adjective clause with a substantive is called a relative pronoun, and the substantive for which the relative pronoun stands is called its antecedent. The relative pronouns in English are who, whose, whom, which, what, that. 