Chapter 3. Coordination and subordination

In this chapter, we will consider complex sentences consisting of two clauses. The two clauses may be independent and coordinated, or one of them may be independent, while the other one is subordinate.

The main difference between coordination and subordination is that coordinated clauses have the same status, they are both independent clauses, while in complex sentences consisting of an independent and a subordinate clause, the two clauses are not on the same level: only the independent clause can be produced on its own, while the subordinate clause cannot.