Difficulty: Medium

Average Score: 60%

Which of the following is a complex sentence?

Rationale

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

This sentence is a complex sentence because it contains an independent clause ("Andy decided to play tennis") and a dependent clause ("After discovering that the football was flat"). The dependent clause provides additional information but cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.

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

This sentence is a simple sentence as it consists of a single independent clause with no dependent clauses. It expresses a complete thought without additional information or clauses.

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

This is also a complex sentence; however, it is structured differently. The independent clause ("Everyone agreed") is followed by a noun clause ("that the wedding was beautiful"), which functions as the object of the verb "agreed." While this choice is complex, it is not the correct answer as the task specifies selecting a sentence with a dependent clause.

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

This sentence is a compound sentence, consisting of two independent clauses connected by a coordinating conjunction ("but"). Both clauses can function independently, which does not meet the criteria of a complex sentence that requires at least one dependent clause.

Conclusion

To identify a complex sentence, one must look for the presence of both independent and dependent clauses. The correct choice, "After discovering that the football was flat, Andy decided to play tennis," exemplifies this structure, presenting a dependent clause that adds context to the independent clause. The other options either lack a dependent clause or do not fit the complexity required for the answer.

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