Difficulty: Medium

Average Score: 65%

Which of the following is a complex sentence?

Rationale

After discovering that the football was flat, Andy decided to play tennis.

A complex sentence contains an independent clause and at least one dependent clause. In this case, "After discovering that the football was flat" is a dependent clause that provides additional information about the action in the independent clause "Andy decided to play tennis." This combination illustrates the relationship between the two ideas, which is characteristic of complex sentences.

A (The hawk swooped down to catch its prey.) YOUR ANSWER

This sentence is a simple sentence as it contains only one independent clause with a subject ("the hawk") and a verb ("swooped"). It does not include any dependent clauses, which are essential for classifying a sentence as complex.

B (Everyone agreed that the wedding was beautiful.) YOUR ANSWER

This sentence is also a complex sentence, but it contains a different structure: it has an independent clause ("Everyone agreed") and a noun clause ("that the wedding was beautiful") functioning as the object of the verb. However, it does not fit the context of the question as well as option D.

C (Samantha came to the party, but she didn't stay long.) YOUR ANSWER

This sentence is a compound sentence because it consists of two independent clauses joined by the conjunction "but." It lacks a dependent clause, which is necessary for a sentence to be classified as complex.

D (After discovering that the football was flat, Andy decided to play tennis.) CORRECT

This is the correct answer because it contains both an independent clause ("Andy decided to play tennis") and a dependent clause ("After discovering that the football was flat"). The presence of both types of clauses makes it a complex sentence.

Conclusion

In summary, complex sentences are defined by the presence of both independent and dependent clauses. Among the provided choices, option D uniquely exemplifies this structure, showcasing a relationship between two ideas through its dependent clause. The other choices either qualify as simple or compound sentences, lacking the necessary complexity. Understanding these distinctions is crucial in mastering sentence structure in English.

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