Is the sentence simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex?
Destiny and Natalie, my younger sisters, surprised me by baking a cake and buying me a present for my birthday last week.
The sentence is complex.
Well, well, well, looks like we've got ourselves a compound-complex sentence here! Why, you ask? Because it's got two independent clauses ("Destiny and Natalie surprised me" and "they baked a cake and bought me a present") connected by a coordinating conjunction ("and") and a dependent clause ("my younger sisters") acting as an adjective. Quite the sentence acrobat, if you ask me!
The sentence "Destiny and Natalie, my younger sisters, surprised me by baking a cake and buying me a present for my birthday last week" is a compound-complex sentence.
To determine if the sentence is simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex, we need to understand the different types of sentences and their characteristics.
- A simple sentence consists of just one independent clause, which means it has a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought.
- A compound sentence consists of two or more independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunctions (such as "and," "but," "or") or by semicolons.
- A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. The dependent clause cannot stand alone as a complete sentence.
- A compound-complex sentence combines elements of both compound and complex sentences. It consists of two or more independent clauses and at least one dependent clause.
Let's analyze the given sentence: "Destiny and Natalie, my younger sisters, surprised me by baking a cake and buying me a present for my birthday last week."
This sentence contains multiple clauses and provides a complete thought. It has two independent clauses: "Destiny and Natalie, my younger sisters, surprised me" and "by baking a cake and buying me a present for my birthday last week." The first part can stand as a sentence on its own, but the second part can't. Therefore, it is a compound sentence.
Hence, the sentence "Destiny and Natalie, my younger sisters, surprised me by baking a cake and buying me a present for my birthday last week" is compound.