Final answer:
A complex sentence combines one independent clause with at least one dependent clause. Identifying these in a sentence involves looking for main clauses, which can stand alone, and subordinate clauses, which start with subordinating conjunctions and cannot stand alone.
Step-by-step explanation:
To identify a complex sentence, it's essential to recognize that it contains one main clause and at least one subordinate clause. A main clause is a part of a sentence that contains a subject and a predicate and has the ability to stand alone as a sentence. Meanwhile, a subordinate clause begins with a subordinating conjunction such as 'although,' 'because,' or 'when,' and cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
For instance, a compound-complex sentence goes a step further by combining at least two main clauses with one or more subordinate clauses. This structure is useful when expressing three or more related ideas within a single sentence. Identifying the parts of the sentence, like the double-underlined main clauses and the single-underlined subordinate clauses, can help determine its complexity.
When reviewing sentences, other tasks may include finding nouns, adjectives, verbs, and adverbs, or identifying the structures of compound sentences and simple sentences. A compound sentence, for example, has two independent clauses that could stand alone but are joined by a coordinating conjunction or a semicolon. Simple sentences contain a single main clause regardless of length.