Peter TS #9

I met with Raul at a picnic table right outside of Strozier library on 25 April. We reviewed complex and complex-compound sentences. Complex sentences are those which contain one independent and one dependent clause. Complex-compound sentences, however, may contain more than one independent clause. Raul had brought his CIES binder and we were able to find some examples to work with. I had him write out a complex sentence using the word ‘and’. He found this to be easy, but what was difficult for him was using the words ‘but’, ‘if’, ‘while’, and ‘after’. He could easily discern between dependent and independent clauses. His grammar became shaky when he wrote out longer examples, and when it came to complex-compound sentences, he had trouble making sense of the many independent clauses and switching to new ones. I had him come up with his own sentences. I apparently explained things in a way that made what he had to do clearer, and by the end of the lesson, he seemed to have grasped the method of constructing complex and compound-complex sentences.