Is the sentence simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex?

Question

Presidents John Adams and George H.W. Bush both had presidential sons, and coincidentally, both sons—John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush—were their fathers' namesakes.

Answer 1

Simple sentences have one independent clause, so so the sentence is not simple. A compound sentence is two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction that is preceded by a comma: for, and, nor, but, or yet, so. A complex sentence has one independent sentence plus one dependent clause, consisting of a subordinate conjunction. Therefore, the sentence is not a complex sentence because there are no complex elements. The sentence is compound, for there are two or more independent clauses joined by the coordinating conjunction and.