Putting It Together

Compound-Complex Sentences

Everything at once: two independent clauses joined as equals, with at least one dependent clause hanging off one of them. Nothing new to learn — only the four structures, and how to tell which one you are looking at.

What you’ll learn

Classify any sentence as simple, compound, complex or compound-complex
Stack independent clauses and hang dependent ones
Read a diagram with three or more base lines
Know why a dependency tree makes all four look similar

The four sentence structures

Every English sentence is one of four kinds, and the classification depends on only two counts: how many independent clauses, and how many dependent ones.

Structure	Independent	Dependent	Example
Simple	1	0	The mechanic retired.
Compound	2+	0	The mechanic retired, and I ordered tires.
Complex	1	1+	The mechanic who fixed my car retired.
Compound-complex	2+	1+	The mechanic who fixed my car retired, and I ordered tires.

Count the subject-verb pairs
Each one is a clause. Four pairs means four clauses, however long the sentence looks.
Mark which ones could stand alone
A clause starting with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun cannot. Those are the dependent ones.
Read the counts off the table
Two independent plus one dependent → compound-complex.

All three devices at once

A compound-complex diagram uses nothing you have not already met. The two independent clauses stack with a dashed step-down between them (from Imperatives & Conjunctions), and the dependent clause hangs from its noun on a dashed line (from Adjective Clauses).

The only new skill is keeping track of three base lines at once. Read them one at a time, starting with the topmost.

“The mechanic who fixed my car retired, and I ordered new tires.”

Reed-Kellogg — three base lines, two kinds of connector

detDeterminer
nsubjNominal subject
relclRelative clause modifier
possPossession modifier
dobjDirect object
ROOTRoot of the sentence
ccCoordinating conjunction
conjConjunct
amodAdjectival modifier

Dependency — one root; relcl and conj sit at the same depth

Comparing the two views

This is the case that most rewards drawing both. Reed-Kellogg gives each clause a base line, so you can count them — three lines, three clauses — and the kind of connector tells you the relationship: a step-down for equals, a dashed climb for subordination. The dependency tree has one root and attaches everything to it, so relcl and conj sit at the same depth and the sentence looks flatter than it is. If someone asks “what structure is this sentence?”, the diagram answers instantly and the tree does not.

The whole notation, in one list

Everything this section has covered, and where to look it up again.

Base line, full vertical, half vertical, backslash — Reed-Kellogg Diagrams
Slants for modifiers, chained for modifiers of modifiers — Adverbs
Diagonal-and-horizontal for prepositional phrases — Prepositional Phrases
Pedestals for constructions filling one slot — Gerunds, Infinitives, Noun Clauses
Chevrons for coordination — Imperatives & Conjunctions
Dashed lines for subordination — Adverb Clauses, Adjective Clauses
Floating lines for elements outside the clause — disjuncts and vocatives

Key terms

Independent clause: A clause that can stand alone as a sentence. Every sentence has at least one. The sun rose. We packed the car, and the dog jumped in. — two of them, joined.
See: Grammar Basics
Compound sentence: Two or more independent clauses joined as equals. Stacked base lines with a step-down. She knocked, and the door opened. We waited, but nobody came.
See: Imperatives & Conjunctions
Complex sentence: One independent clause plus at least one dependent clause. We left because it rained. The violin that she inherited needs new strings.
See: Adverb Clauses
Compound-complex sentence: Two or more independent clauses plus at least one dependent clause. Both connectors in one diagram. We left because it rained, and the dog followed us. She kept the letter that he sent, but she never replied.

Practice on a real sentence

A genuine compound-complex sentence: two independent clauses and a relative clause inside the second. This is the hardest one in the published set — a good final test.

“The first pig built his house of straw, and the second pig, who was little wiser, built his house of sticks.”

Parts of speech

Give every word its coarse Universal Dependencies category.

Words 0/21Attempts 0Correct 0Time 0:00

Sentence — select a part of speech below, then click the word(s) it applies to

The first pig built his house of straw, and the second pig, who was little wiser, built his house of sticks.