In the following sentence are they compound, complex, or compound complex
All girls were taught spinning when they were quite young, and they also learned weaving.
I think compound complex
While housewives were at the marketplace, they met at the public fountain, and young people played games.
I think compound complex
:-) Both answers are right.
To determine whether the sentences are compound, complex, or compound-complex, let's break them down.
1. "All girls were taught spinning when they were quite young, and they also learned weaving."
In this sentence, we have two independent clauses joined by the coordinating conjunction "and":
- "All girls were taught spinning when they were quite young."
- "They also learned weaving."
Additionally, each independent clause contains dependent clauses:
- "All girls were taught spinning" contains the dependent clause "when they were quite young."
- "They also learned weaving" does not contain a dependent clause.
Based on this analysis, the sentence is indeed compound complex because it contains multiple independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction, and at least one of the independent clauses contains a dependent clause.
2. "While housewives were at the marketplace, they met at the public fountain, and young people played games."
In this sentence, we also have two independent clauses joined by the coordinating conjunction "and":
- "While housewives were at the marketplace, they met at the public fountain."
- "Young people played games."
Even though there are multiple independent clauses, there are no dependent clauses in either of them. Therefore, the sentence is compound rather than compound complex.
So, your first thought was correct - the first sentence is compound complex, while the second sentence is just compound.