complement(ary) clausen
see complement
complementizer n
any of a set of clause-introducing words, such as thatin He thought that
Gore had won, ifin I wonder if this is the right road, and forin They are
keen for you to come.
see also complement
complementizer deletionn
the process of deleting a complementizer, for example, I know you’ll be
happy(from I know that you’ll be happy).
complexityn
a composite measure of language use, normally reflecting the length of
utterances and the amount of subordination used. In studying a second
language learner’s discourse or interlanguage complexity is one measure
of L2 development.
complex NP constraintn
a condition on transformations in early generative syntax that stated that
no element contained in an S dominated by an NP with a lexical head may
be moved out of that NP. More recently, this has been reinterpreted as an
example of subjacency.
complex sentencen
a sentence which contains one or more dependent clauses, in addition to
its independent, or main, clause. For example:
When it rained, we went inside.
(dep cl) (ind cl)
A sentence which contains two or more independent clauses which are
jointed by co-ordination is called a compound sentence. For example:
He is a small boybut he is very strong
(ind cl) (ind cl)
I’lleither phone you or I will send youa note.
(ind cl) (ind cl)
A sentence which contains only one predicateis called a simple sentence.
For example:
I like milk.
(pred)
complex sentence