3.2 Complex Sentences

Overview of Complex Sentences in Urdu

In Urdu, complex sentences let you connect ideas, show reasons, contrasts, conditions, time, and more. They are essential for moving beyond short, basic sentences.

A complex sentence has:

• one main (independent) clause, and
• one or more dependent (subordinate) clauses, which are often introduced by conjunctions.

In this chapter you will see how complex sentences in Urdu are built with common conjunctions, how they are ordered, and how they differ in spoken and written style. The details of individual conjunctions like کیونکہ, لیکن, اگر will be covered in their specific subsection later, so here we focus on the general behavior of complex sentences.

Main clause and dependent clause

A main clause can stand by itself as a complete sentence.
A dependent clause cannot stand alone, it needs a connection to a main clause.

English example:

• “I stayed home because it was raining.”

Urdu:

• میں گھر میں رہا کیونکہ بارش ہو رہی تھی۔
  main clause: میں گھر میں رہا
  dependent clause: کیونکہ بارش ہو رہی تھی

Notice that in Urdu both parts often look like normal sentences, but the conjunction shows which one is giving the reason, condition, contrast, and so on.

Typical patterns are:

You will see specific examples with these conjunctions when you study each of them in detail.

Word order in complex sentences

Urdu keeps the basic SOV order inside each clause, even when clauses are combined. In other words, each clause usually ends with its verb.

Compare:

• Simple:
• میں کھانا کھاتا ہوں۔
  “I eat food.”
• Complex with reason:
• میں کھانا کھاتا ہوں کیونکہ مجھے بھوک لگتی ہے۔
  “I eat food because I feel hungry.”

Both clauses end with verbs:

• کھاتا ہوں
• لگتی ہے

Whenever you build a complex sentence, check that each clause ends with its verb, not only the last one.

Two positions for the dependent clause

In many cases, you have two options.

1. Dependent clause first
• اگر تم آؤ گے تو میں خوش ہوں گا۔
  “If you come, I will be happy.”
2. Dependent clause second
• میں خوش ہوں گا اگر تم آؤ گے۔
  “I will be happy if you come.”

Both are grammatical. In spoken Urdu, the version with اگر at the beginning (1) is very common.

Similarly for time or reason clauses, you can often put the dependent clause first or second. However, for contrast with لیکن, Clause 1 + لیکن + Clause 2 is by far the most natural pattern.

Punctuation and spoken pauses

In written Urdu the comma and full stop work much like in English, but in complex sentences speakers often rely on intonation and small pauses instead of strict punctuation.

For example:

• جب وہ آیا، میں سو رہا تھا۔
  “When he came, I was sleeping.”

In writing, you might see a comma after جب وہ آیا. In speech, the comma is realized as a short pause and a small intonation change.

In more informal writing, the comma may be omitted:

• جب وہ آیا میں سو رہا تھا۔

The key idea for you is to recognize the start of a new clause when a conjunction appears, and to expect a verb at the end of each clause.

Combining more than two clauses

Urdu complex sentences can include several clauses. As an intermediate learner you should learn to identify these clauses even if you do not yet produce very long sentences yourself.

Example with three clauses:

• اگر بارش رکے، اور اگر تم فارغ ہو، تو ہم پارک چلتے ہیں۔
  “If the rain stops, and if you are free, then we will go to the park.”

Here:

• Clause 1: اگر بارش رکے
• Clause 2: اور اگر تم فارغ ہو
• Clause 3 (main clause): تو ہم پارک چلتے ہیں

In practice, speakers usually shorten such sentences:

• اگر بارش رکے اور تم فارغ ہو تو ہم پارک چلتے ہیں۔

Try to keep your own sentences clear and not too long. Long sentences are normal in written Urdu, but for learning and speaking it is better to use fewer, clearer clauses.

Coordination inside complex sentences

In complex sentences, clauses can be:

• Subordinated with conjunctions like “if, because, when, so that” etc., or
• Coordinated with “and, but, or” inside that structure.

Urdu often combines these two types.

Example:

• اگر تم آؤ تو ہم چائے پیئیں گے اور بات کریں گے۔
  “If you come, we will drink tea and talk.”

Breakdown:

• Conditional clause (dependent): اگر تم آؤ
• Main clause (independent): ہم چائے پیئیں گے اور بات کریں گے

Inside the main clause, two verbs are coordinated with اور:

• چائے پیئیں گے
• بات کریں گے

So a sentence can be complex because of a condition, and at the same time it can have coordination inside the main clause.

Ellipsis: omitting repeated words

In complex sentences, Urdu often omits repeated subjects or objects if they are clear from context. This makes sentences more natural and less repetitive.

Example without ellipsis:

• میں بازار جاؤں گا اور میں سبزی خریدوں گا۔
  “I will go to the market and I will buy vegetables.”

More natural with ellipsis:

• میں بازار جاؤں گا اور سبزی خریدوں گا۔
  “I will go to the market and buy vegetables.”

In more complex sentences:

• اگر میں فری ہوں تو میں تمہیں فون کروں گا، اور اگر میں فری نہیں ہوں تو میں میسج کر دوں گا۔
  “If I am free, I will call you, and if I am not free, I will send a message.”

Often shortened to:

• اگر میں فری ہوا تو تمہیں فون کروں گا، اور نہ ہوا تو میسج کر دوں گا۔

Here the repeated parts like میں are omitted where they are obvious.

Formal vs informal style in complex sentences

In spoken, informal Urdu, complex sentences tend to be:

• shorter,
• less strictly punctuated,
• and often use fewer conjunction types, for example a lot of اور and لیکن.

Examples:

• میں گھر جا رہا ہوں، لیکن شام کو واپس آؤں گا۔
  Informal, but also fine in writing.
• اگر وقت ملا تو آؤں گا، نہیں ملا تو پھر کبھی۔
  Very colloquial in the second part.

In more formal or written Urdu:

• اگر مجھے وقت ملا تو میں ضرور آؤں گا، ورنہ میں آپ کو مطلع کر دوں گا۔
  “If I get time, I will certainly come, otherwise I will inform you.”

Formal style tends to use:

• clearer logical connectors (مثلاً ورنہ, تاہم, چنانچہ etc., which you will meet later),
• and slightly longer clauses with more complete expressions.

As an intermediate learner, you can focus on clear, simple complex sentences and slowly add variety.

Translating complex ideas from English

When moving from English to Urdu, do not just translate word by word. Look for the relationship between ideas:

• Cause or reason? Use a reason-type connector.
• Condition? Use a conditional-type connector.
• Contrast? Use a contrast-type connector.

Some typical English patterns and their Urdu counterparts:

You will practice the specific conjunctions and their forms in dedicated sections. At this point, focus on seeing that Urdu prefers to keep each clause structurally complete and usually keeps the verb at the end of its clause.

Common learner difficulties

Mixing English word order inside clauses

Learners sometimes copy English word order when adding a second clause:

• ✗ میں گھر رہا کیونکہ بارش تھی ہو رہی
• Correct:
• میں گھر میں رہا کیونکہ بارش ہو رہی تھی۔

Keep SOV in each clause separately:

• گھر میں رہا
• بارش ہو رہی تھی

Forgetting to close the clause with a verb

• ✗ اگر تم یہاں، میں خوش ہوں گا
• Correct:
• اگر تم یہاں آؤ تو میں خوش ہوں گا۔
  “If you come here, I will be happy.”

The first clause needs its own verb (آؤ).

Making chains of “اور” without clear relations

Learners often create long lists with اور and lose the logic:

• ✗ میں تھکا تھا اور میں گھر گیا اور میں سویا اور میں کھانا نہیں کھایا کیونکہ۔

Better to structure clearly:

• میں تھکا ہوا تھا، اس لیے میں گھر گیا اور سو گیا، اس لیے کھانا نہیں کھایا۔
  “I was tired, so I went home and slept, so I did not eat.”

Even better, split into two sentences in your own speech if needed. Clarity is more important than complexity.

Practice suggestions

To consolidate complex sentences:

1. Join two simple sentences
   Take pairs like “I am hungry.” / “I will cook.”
   Turn them into a complex sentence with a relation such as cause, time, or condition.
2. Reverse the order of clauses
   If you can say one version with the dependent clause first, try moving it second and compare the feeling.
3. Identify clauses in reading
   When you read a short Urdu text, underline each verb and try to see how many clauses are in one long sentence, and which connectors link them.
4. Shorten long sentences
   When you meet a long sentence, try to rewrite it as two or three shorter ones. This helps you understand the structure.

Over time you will start to feel which patterns are natural in Urdu and which sound too “translated” from English.

Vocabulary from this chapter

The focus of this chapter is structure, but here is a list of useful English terms and their Urdu equivalents, to help you understand explanations in grammar books or classes:

Remember that in your actual speaking and writing, you mainly need to use the patterns, not the terminology. Understanding the structure, however, will make it much easier to expand your Urdu.