<article style="max-width: 820px; margin: 0px auto; padding: 24px 18px 50px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); color: rgb(53, 38, 79); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; line-height: 1.75;"><header style="text-align: center; margin-bottom: 34px;">Light Up Literature™ Curriculum · Middle School Writing<h1 id="5a4c791a-6c99-47fb-bb6d-b404c8c43553" data-toc-id="5a4c791a-6c99-47fb-bb6d-b404c8c43553" style="margin: 0px 0px 18px; color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 32px; line-height: 1.2;">Complex Sentences Made Simple: The Comma Checks Middle Schoolers Can Actually Use</h1>Two ways to make a complex sentence, one word trap, and ten questions to try after the video.<a href="https://youtu.be/501roeUAdP4" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/501roeUAdP4/maxresdefault.jpg" alt="Complex Sentences, Made Simple video thumbnail featuring Debra Lee Shepherd" style="display: block; height: auto; border: 1px solid rgb(234, 216, 242); border-radius: 16px;"></a>Click the thumbnail to watch the lesson on YouTube.</header><div style="height: 5px; margin-bottom: 32px; background: rgb(189, 16, 225); border-radius: 5px;"></div>Your student spots because and reaches for a comma. Or they spot and and announce, “Compound sentence!” Then they get a question wrong and wonder which rule they were supposed to use.I understand the confusion. A list of “signal words” is easy to memorize, but the word alone does not tell us what the sentence is doing. We have to look at the words that come after it.That is the lesson in my <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/501roeUAdP4" style="color: rgb(125, 13, 166); font-weight: 700;">Complex Sentences Made Simple video</a>. We look at two ways to build a complex sentence, the comma decisions that go with each, and a trap that catches students who rely only on the opening word. Watch the video with your middle schooler, then use the examples and ten-question practice below to see what stuck.<h2 id="eaacaa9d-2295-4d6f-b8c0-4291e566adba" data-toc-id="eaacaa9d-2295-4d6f-b8c0-4291e566adba" style="margin: 42px 0px 16px; color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">First, find the thought that can stand alone</h2>A simple sentence has one independent clause, or one complete thought:<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">The dog barked and ran in circles.</blockquote>That sentence has two actions, but the same dog does both. And does not automatically make it compound.A compound sentence joins two independent clauses:<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">The dog barked, and the neighbors looked outside.</blockquote>Each side can stand alone: The dog barked. The neighbors looked outside.A complex sentence includes an independent clause and at least one dependent clause. The dependent clause has its own subject and verb, but something in it makes us wait for the rest:<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">Because the storm hit, school closed early.</blockquote>The storm hit could stand alone. Add because, and the reader asks, “What happened because of the storm?” School closed early finishes the thought.Here is the first question I ask a student: Which part could be a sentence by itself? Once they find that part, the other piece is much easier to understand.<h2 id="d8ac1460-6479-445f-9b26-fd4fda9b4f5b" data-toc-id="d8ac1460-6479-445f-9b26-fd4fda9b4f5b" style="margin: 42px 0px 16px; color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">Door one: An AAAWWUBBIS word introduces a dependent clause</h2>AAAWWUBBIS is a memory aid for after, although, as, when, while, until, before, because, if, and since. These words can introduce a dependent clause when a subject and verb follow them.<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">Although Marcus was terrified of the dark, he opened the door anyway.</blockquote>The dependent clause Although Marcus was terrified of the dark tells us about an obstacle. The complete thought he opened the door anyway tells us what happened.The word you choose changes the relationship:<ul style="padding-left: 28px;"><li>When Marcus opened the door, the hall was silent. (time)</li><li>Because Marcus opened the door, the dog escaped. (cause)</li><li>Although Marcus was afraid, he opened the door. (contrast)</li><li>If Marcus opens the door, the alarm will sound. (condition)</li></ul>These are writing choices. I want students to ask what they mean before picking a word from a list.<h3 id="010059ee-d531-4847-b106-cfa538dec738" data-toc-id="010059ee-d531-4847-b106-cfa538dec738" style="margin: 30px 0px 12px; color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Where does the comma go?</h3>When the dependent clause comes first, place the comma after the entire clause:<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">Although she was nervous, she walked on stage anyway.</blockquote>The comma goes after nervous, where the introductory clause ends. It does not go immediately after although.When that clause follows the main thought, this ordinary example needs no comma:<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">She walked on stage anyway although she was nervous.</blockquote>Try moving the two parts of a sentence. If your student can show where the opening clause ends, the comma stops feeling like a guess.<h2 id="b7b6ab2d-0b00-40e6-abd6-c10646e17f04" data-toc-id="b7b6ab2d-0b00-40e6-abd6-c10646e17f04" style="margin: 42px 0px 16px; color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">The word trap: “Until” does not always make a sentence complex</h2>Compare these two sentences from the video:<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">We can’t leave until five o’clock. Until the rain stops, we can’t leave.</blockquote>The first is simple. Until five o’clock names a time. It does not contain a subject and a verb, so it is a phrase rather than a clause.The second is complex. The rain stops has a subject (rain) and a verb (stops). With until in front, Until the rain stops becomes a dependent clause attached to we can’t leave.This is the check I want students to use: After the connecting word, can you find a subject doing something?<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">We waited after lunch. (a time phrase) We waited after the lunch bell rang. (a dependent clause: bell + rang)</blockquote>A student who simply circles after in both sentences will miss the difference. A student who checks what follows it can explain the answer.<h2 id="bad4fbdb-9e01-4767-acec-6641cc926720" data-toc-id="bad4fbdb-9e01-4767-acec-6641cc926720" style="margin: 42px 0px 16px; color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">Door two: A relative clause describes a noun</h2>A complex sentence can also contain a relative clause introduced by words such as who, whom, whose, which, or that. This kind of clause gives information about a noun:<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">The book that you lent me was amazing.</blockquote>The book was amazing is the main clause. That you lent me tells us which book. It is a dependent clause, so the whole sentence is complex, even though it contains no AAAWWUBBIS word.This is why a student can know the first comma rule perfectly and still miss a complex-sentence question. There is a second door.<h3 id="a0d73843-a0a3-424e-a4af-165a401868b8" data-toc-id="a0d73843-a0a3-424e-a4af-165a401868b8" style="margin: 30px 0px 12px; color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">The cover-it-up test for commas</h3>Ask your student to cover the relative clause with a finger. Does the remaining sentence still identify the person or thing clearly in that context?<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">My copy of Hatchet, which I’ve read four times, is falling apart.</blockquote>Cover which I’ve read four times. We still know the speaker means my copy of Hatchet. The relative clause adds extra information. Set it off with commas.<blockquote style="margin: 20px 0px; padding: 17px 22px; background: rgb(232, 254, 255); border-left: 5px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107);">The book that you lent me was amazing.</blockquote>Cover that you lent me. Now we have The book was amazing. Which book? If that detail is needed to identify it in this context, keep the clause with no commas.This is a meaning test, not just a punctuation trick. Context matters. If you and a student are holding a single book and both know which one you mean, the book may already be clear. In an ordinary sentence with several possible books, that you lent me identifies the one we mean. The writer decides whether the detail is necessary to the reader.For middle school practice, I begin with clear examples like the two above. Later, students can discuss cases where context changes the decision.<h2 id="9c919fe1-37e2-4f16-94e5-fef0f7c0eacf" data-toc-id="9c919fe1-37e2-4f16-94e5-fef0f7c0eacf" style="margin: 42px 0px 16px; color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">A quick lesson for home or class</h2>Use the video first or pause after its examples. Then try this five-to-ten-minute routine:<ol style="padding-left: 28px;"><li>Find the complete thought. In Although she was nervous, she walked on stage anyway, ask which part can stand alone.</li><li>Inspect the other part. Does it have its own subject and verb? What does it tell us about the main thought?</li><li>Choose the comma check. An opening AAAWWUBBIS clause gets a comma after the whole clause. For a who/which/that clause, cover it and ask whether the reader still knows who or what is meant.</li><li>Explain one answer aloud. “It is complex because…” or “The commas belong here because…” is stronger evidence of understanding than a lucky choice.</li></ol>If writing feels overwhelming, let your student point to the clauses and explain them orally while you write the first example. Then let them try the next one independently. The thinking stays with the student.<h2 id="357bdbd9-d715-4947-a4d7-cbcd085336ab" data-toc-id="357bdbd9-d715-4947-a4d7-cbcd085336ab" style="margin: 42px 0px 16px; padding-top: 24px; border-top: 4px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">Ten sentences to try after the video</h2>For 1–4, identify the sentence as simple, compound, or complex. For 5–7, add a comma only if needed. For 8–10, decide whether the bold relative clause is essential (no commas) or extra (use commas). Write the punctuated sentence.<ol style="padding-left: 28px;"><li>The dog barked and ran in circles.</li><li>We can’t leave until five o’clock.</li><li>Because the storm hit, school closed early.</li><li>The storm hit, and school closed early.</li><li>Although she was nervous she walked on stage anyway.</li><li>She walked on stage anyway although she was nervous.</li><li>After the lunch bell rang students hurried outside.</li><li>The notebook that I left on the bus is missing. (Several notebooks are being discussed.)</li><li>My blue notebook which my aunt gave me is missing. (The speaker owns one blue notebook.)</li><li>The coach who taught me to swim moved away. (Several coaches are being discussed.)</li></ol><h3 id="35a6f60f-a262-4fef-b482-56dac4d68d5d" data-toc-id="35a6f60f-a262-4fef-b482-56dac4d68d5d" style="margin: 30px 0px 12px; color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.2;">Answer key with the reasoning</h3><ol style="padding-left: 28px;"><li>Simple. One subject, dog, does two actions. And ran in circles does not form another independent clause.</li><li>Simple. Until five o’clock is a time phrase, with no subject and verb of its own.</li><li>Complex. Because the storm hit is a dependent clause; school closed early can stand alone.</li><li>Compound. The storm hit and school closed early can each stand alone, joined by and.</li><li>Although she was nervous, she walked on stage anyway. The comma follows the entire introductory dependent clause, after nervous.</li><li>She walked on stage anyway although she was nervous. The dependent clause follows the main thought, so this ordinary version needs no comma.</li><li>After the lunch bell rang, students hurried outside. After the lunch bell rang opens the sentence and contains its own subject and verb (bell rang).</li><li>The notebook that I left on the bus is missing. That I left on the bus identifies which notebook. In the given context it is essential, so there are no commas.</li><li>My blue notebook, which my aunt gave me, is missing. The notebook is already identified in the given context. The clause adds information, so commas go on both sides.</li><li>The coach who taught me to swim moved away. The clause identifies which coach. With several possible coaches, it is essential and takes no commas.</li></ol>If a student misses 2 or 7, return to the subject + verb check after the connecting word. If they miss 8–10, return to the cover-it-up test and the context in parentheses. A wrong answer tells us what to teach next.<h2 id="e477a29b-3283-4c91-8df6-c913dff2a74a" data-toc-id="e477a29b-3283-4c91-8df6-c913dff2a74a" style="margin: 42px 0px 16px; padding-top: 24px; border-top: 4px solid rgb(98, 221, 227); color: rgb(37, 4, 107); font-family: Georgia, serif; text-align: left; font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;">What I am building next</h2>I am developing interactive, self-paced courses for middle school students and families. The complex sentences course is still in production, with opportunities to practice and revisit the skill. I will share it when it is ready.I am also planning a teacher membership for summer 2027. The idea is one teacher membership that lets a teacher bring their own class into the same kind of interactive student courses. I will share the details as they take shape.For now, <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/501roeUAdP4" style="color: rgb(125, 13, 166); font-weight: 700;">watch the video overview</a> and try the ten sentences together. Tell me which one made your student stop and think. Those are often the most useful ones to talk through.— Debra Lee Shepherd Light Up Literature™ Curriculum</article>

Learn two ways to build complex sentences, where commas go, and why words like “until” can be misleading. Includes a video and 10 practice sentences.

Complex Sentences Made Simple | Middle School Comma Rules

Help your middle schooler spot dependent clauses, avoid the “until” trap, and decide where commas belong. Watch the lesson and try the practice.

Complex Sentences Made Simple: The Comma Checks Middle Schoolers Can Actually Use

Complex Sentences Made Simple: The Comma Checks Middle Schoolers Can Actually Use

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