Complex word order
Apprentissage rapide
Longer sentences join clauses, and the joining word decides both the order inside the clause and the punctuation around it.
À retenir
- A subordinate clause keeps statement order however it begins.
- When the subordinate clause comes first, a comma separates the two.
- Although, because, while and so are not interchangeable; each sets a different relation.
Exemples
- 1The nurse who looked after my father has retired.
- 2The laptop that I ordered last week has finally arrived.
Piège courant à éviter
English uses one connector per relation. Although it was late, we stayed is complete, and adding but after it doubles a link the sentence already has.
Approfondir
La règle
Two clauses, each in order
At B1 a sentence often contains two clauses, and each clause keeps its own ordinary order: subject, then verb, then the rest. The joining word decides where the clause sits and whether a comma is needed.
Relative clauses
Relative clauses come directly after the noun they describe:
- The engineer who designed the bridge lives nearby
- This is the café where we first met.
Who is for people, which for things, and that can replace either in a defining clause. When the relative word is the object, it can be left out:
- The book I borrowed was excellent.
If and time clauses
Conditional clauses can open or close the sentence. If the if-clause comes first, a comma separates it from the main clause:
- If it snows, the school will close.
If it comes second, no comma is needed:
- The school will close if it snows.
Time clauses with when, before, after, as soon as and until follow the same comma rule, and they use a present tense for the future.
Reported speech and verb patterns
Reported speech and indirect questions keep statement order after the reporting verb. "Where is the station?" becomes "She asked where the station was", and "Could you tell me when the shop opens?" has the subject before the verb. Verb patterns place the object before an infinitive:
- The doctor told me to rest
- My parents want us to visit.
Gerunds follow prepositions:
- She is interested in learning Arabic.
Passives, adverbs and tags
Passive sentences move the object into the subject position, and by + agent comes after the verb if it is needed:
- The results were announced by the committee.
With perfect tenses, short adverbs such as already, just, never and ever sit between have and the past participle:
- We have already paid
- She has never flown.
Question tags repeat the helper with the opposite polarity at the end:
- You work here, don't you?
- They haven't arrived, have they?
One connector per relation
Connectors set a single relation between two clauses. Although and even though mark contrast, because marks reason, so marks result, and while can mark contrast or simultaneous action. English uses one connector per relation, so although and but never appear together.
Anatomie de la phrase
Des phrases de cette leçon, découpées dans l'ordre qu'exige l'anglais.
SujetThe nurse who looked after my fatherAuxiliairehasVerberetired.
AuxiliaireCouldSujetyouVerbetellObjetmePropositionwhere the lifts are?
PropositionAlthough the hotel was expensive,Sujetthe roomsVerbewereAttributtiny.
Guide visuel
How to read this B1 topic
At B1, grammar links ideas: condition, result, reported meaning, experience, and narrative order.
1. Name the relationship
Ask whether the sentence gives a condition, contrast, cause, report, or result.
If it rains, we will stay home.
2. Separate time from aspect
Finished event, visible result, duration, and background action use different forms.
I had left before she arrived.
3. Test both clauses
In complex sentences, the second half often proves the first half.
I wish I knew.
English word-order check
Use this path when a sentence feels grammatical but awkward.
- 1Find the subject and the finite verb.
- 2Keep the verb close to its direct object.
- 3Put manner before place before time when several adverbials come at the end.
- 4Move time to the front only when it helps the sentence flow.
Contrasts that often decide the answer
Event or background
Simple forms move events forward; continuous forms show an action in progress.
I left while she was talking.
Fact or stance
Modals, hedges, and reporting structures show how certain or responsible the speaker sounds.
This may indicate a problem.
Clause or compressed phrase
Advanced writing often compresses full clauses into participle, noun, or prepositional phrases.
Having reviewed the data, we revised the plan.
Exemples
- 1The nurse who looked after my father has retired.
- 2The laptop that I ordered last week has finally arrived.
- 3If the meeting finishes early, we will go for a walk.
- 4We will leave as soon as the rain stops.
- 5He asked me how much the tickets cost.
- 6Could you tell me where the lifts are?
- 7My manager asked me to prepare the slides.
- 8The new hospital was opened by the mayor in 2019.
- 9I have just sent you the address.
- 10Although the hotel was expensive, the rooms were tiny.
Exceptions
A non-defining relative clause adds extra information and sits between commas; that cannot introduce it: "My sister, who lives in Leeds, is a teacher." Informal English often ends a relative clause with its preposition: "the flat we lived in", while formal English puts it in front: "the flat in which we lived". In reported questions, back-shift is optional when the fact is still true: "She asked where the station is" is acceptable if it is still there. Only a negative or limiting word at the front forces question order in a statement: "Rarely does he complain" belongs to more formal English.
Erreurs fréquentes
Question order in an indirect question
Erreur
I don't know where does she live.
Correct
I don't know where she lives.
Indirect questions keep statement order.
Double connector
Erreur
Although it was late, but we stayed.
Correct
Although it was late, we stayed.
One connector per relation.
Adverb after the participle
Erreur
I have finished already the report.
Correct
I have already finished the report.
Short adverbs go between have and the participle.
Extra pronoun in a relative clause
Erreur
The man who he called me was angry.
Correct
The man who called me was angry.
The relative word replaces the pronoun.
Infinitive without its object
Erreur
She told to wait.
Correct
She told us to wait.
Récap
L'essentiel de la leçon sur une carte, avant de te tester.
À retenir
- A subordinate clause keeps statement order however it begins.
- When the subordinate clause comes first, a comma separates the two.
- Although, because, while and so are not interchangeable; each sets a different relation.
Erreurs fréquentes
Erreur: I don't know where does she live.
Correct: I don't know where she lives.Erreur: Although it was late, but we stayed.
Correct: Although it was late, we stayed.Erreur: I have finished already the report.
Correct: I have already finished the report.
Teste-toi
Combine five pairs of sentences with three different connectors, then practise.
Points de grammaire associés
Poursuivez votre apprentissage avec d'autres notions de ce niveau.