英语的复合句一般分为三大类型：名词性从句、形容词性从句和副词性从句。
(一) 名词性从句
在整个复合句中起名词作用，充当主语、宾语、表语和同位语等的各种从句，统称为名词性从句。名词性从句主要有以下几种：
1. that 引导的从句 e.g. It is reported that one third of Guangzhou citizens plan to buy a private car. (据报道，三分之一的广州市民打算购买私家车。)
2. whether/if 引导的从句 e.g. Whether motorcycles should be banned in Guangzhou has become an issue of controversy.(广州是否禁摩托车成了有争议的话题。)
3. how/why/when/where引导的从句 e.g. This essay aims to explore why so many white collar workers suffer from insomnia. (本文将探讨为什么这么多白领失眠的原因。)
4. who/whom/whose/what/which引导的从句 e.g. Who should be responsible for the environmental degradation is still unknown.(谁对环境恶化负责还不清楚。)
(二) 形容词性从句
具有形容词功能，在复合句中做定语的从句被称之为形容词性从句或定语从句。被修饰的名词、词组或代词被称为先行词。形容词性从句分为两种类型：
(1)由关系代词 who, whom, whose, that, which, as引导的从句。 例如: People who are strongly against human cloning claim that it is immoral and unethical. (强烈反对克隆人的人们认为这样做不道德和不合伦理)
(2)由关系副词when, where, why引导的从句。例如: I would like to analyze the reasons why a growing number of teenagers are addicted to gambling.(我将分析为什么越来越多的青少年沉迷于赌博的原因。)
(三) 副词性从句
副词性从句也称为状语从句，主要用来修饰主句或者主句的谓语。大致分为九大类，分别表示时间、地点、原因、目的、结果、条件、让步、比较和方式。
(1)时间状语从句 e.g. When everyone is fully aware of the severity of fresh water scarcity and takes effective measures, I am convinced that we will tackle this problem constructively.(当每个人充分意识到淡水短缺的严重性，并采取有效措施，我相信我们一定能妥善解决好这个问题。)
(2) 地点状语从句 e.g. Where there is smoke, there is fire.(无风不起浪)
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