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Sentence Structure Challenge Trivia Quiz

This quiz is for all of you real grammar nuts. You will need to decide, after reading each sentence, whether the sentences are simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex. Good luck! By the way, this quiz is based on U.S. English Usage.

A multiple-choice quiz by Teacher1976. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Teacher1976

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
125,805

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
5441

Last 3 plays: Guest 156 (9/10), Guest 39 (2/10), Guest 41 (4/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

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

Complex

Compound

Simple

Compound-Complex

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

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

Compound

Simple

Compound - Complex

Complex

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

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

Compound-Complex

Simple

Complex

Compound

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

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

Simple

Complex

Compound-Complex

Compound

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

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

Simple

Complex

Compound

Compound-Complex

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

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

Compound

Simple

Compound-Complex

Complex

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

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

Complex

Simple

Compound-Complex

Compound

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

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

Compound - Complex

Compound

Simple

Complex

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. 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. Hint

Complex

Compound

Simple

Compound-Complex

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

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

Compound-Complex

Complex

Simple

Compound

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Today : Guest 156: 9/10
Today : Guest 39: 2/10
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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

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

Answer: Complex

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

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

Answer: Compound - Complex

The "that" in front of "he forgot his homework" makes that part of the sentence into a subordinate clause; similarly "if he could make it up later" is a subordinate clause. Two independent clauses + two subordinate clauses = compound-complex.

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

Answer: 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!

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

Answer: Compound

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

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

Answer: Simple

Although it looks as if there might be a subordinate clause, "with its crazy clowns and brave lion tamers" is an adjectival phrase rather than a clause, as it has no verb.

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

Answer: Compound-Complex

Another understood "that" - this time after said - makes two independent clauses ("Joan said" and "she doesn't have enough time") and two subordinate clauses.

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

Answer: Compound-Complex

The subordinate clause is "When he saw the price of the car", while the two independent clauses are "he started laughing" and "(implied he) walked away".

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

Answer: 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.

9. 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.

Answer: Compound

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

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

Answer: 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!

Source: Author Teacher1976

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Bruyere before going online.
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