Special Sub-Topic: Sentence Structure Challenge Click Here To Play: Sentence Structure Challenge

The Cleveland Indians, who have rebuilt themselves in the off season, have lost their home opener this year.

Complex. Don't forget about the subordinate clause "who have rebuilt . . . " modifying the subject of the independent clause "Cleveland Indians." Subordinate + Independent = Complex.

Mark said that he forgot his homework, and he asked if he could make it up later.

Compound - Complex. The "that" in front of "he forgot his homework" makes that part of the sentence into a subordinate clause, and two independent clauses + one subordinate clause = compound-complex.

Although he was very intelligent, Mario could not figure out how to solve the Rubik's Cube.

Complex. The first clause is subordinate, whereas the rest of the sentence is independent. Don't let the infinitive phrase "to solve the Rubik's Cube" fool you!

My favorite sport to watch in the fall is football, so I clear my schedule every Sunday to watch the Browns.

Compound. Go Browns! Here we have two independent clauses, so we have a compound sentence.

The circus, with its crazy clowns and brave lion tamers, is in town this week.

Simple. Don't let its length fool you - there is only one subject + verb pair (circus is) in this sentence, so it is simple.

Joan said she loves shopping, but she doesn't have enough money to do it as often as she would like!

Compound-Complex. Another understood "that" - this time after said - makes two independent clauses and two subordinate clauses.

When he saw the price of the car, he started laughing and walked away.

Complex. Can you spot the subordinate clause in this one?

In the middle of the night, a loud noise from my neighbor's house woke me up.

Simple. The first part of the sentence is a series of prepositional phrases - don't be tricked into seeing them as a subordinate clause - there's no verb.

Violence on television has been debated by politicians for years, yet they still don't have a good plan about how to deal with it.

Compound. Lots of prepositions are in this sentence, which makes it look like a sentence that might have a few subordinate clauses in it.

This is the end of my quiz, which had to happen sometime; I hope you liked it!

Compound-Complex. The two independent clauses are "This is the end of my quiz" and "I hope you liked it"; they're joined by a semicolon, making the sentence compound. If you take a closer look, it's also complex, though: check out the dependent clause "which had to happen sometime"! The structure is both complex and compound. Thanks for playing!