I am confused on how to identify a sentence as a complex sentence or a simple sentence. The sentence is "The first recorded trip to the Yellowstone geysers was made in 1807 by John Colter." I think it is simple...but am not sure if there is a subordinate clause in there or not

The first thing to do is to identify the clauses, both independent and dependent. Remember that a clause has a subject and a verb.

The first recorded trip to the Yellowstone geysers was made in 1807 by John Colter.

In this sentence, there is one subject and one verb; therefore, it's a simple sentence.

one independent clause = simple
two independent clauses joined correctly = compound
one independent and one dependent clause = complex
two independent clauses joined correctly plus one dependent clause = compound-complex

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/clauses.htm

thank you for the link!

thank you....that makes sense now

You're very welcome.

This is an excellent website:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
It's easy to navigate by clicking on Index and finding what you need in the alphabetical listings.

To determine whether a sentence is simple or complex, you need to analyze its structure and identify any subordinate clauses. In the sentence you provided, "The first recorded trip to the Yellowstone geysers was made in 1807 by John Colter," let's break it down and evaluate it.

A simple sentence consists of one independent clause, which means it can stand alone as a complete thought. It does not contain any subordinate clauses. On the other hand, a complex sentence contains at least one independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses.

In the given sentence, we have:

1. "The first recorded trip to the Yellowstone geysers was made in 1807" - This is an independent clause as it can stand alone as a complete thought.

2. "by John Colter" - This phrase provides additional information about the subject in the independent clause, "The first recorded trip." It is a prepositional phrase and can be classified as a dependent clause.

Since the sentence has only one independent clause and one dependent clause, it is a complex sentence. The independent clause is "The first recorded trip to the Yellowstone geysers was made in 1807." The dependent clause is "by John Colter."

Remember, a complex sentence contains an independent clause and at least one dependent clause, and each clause is a group of words that contains a subject and a predicate.