Grammar Question - Any Help Appreciated!

[Cleopatra]

I've started a Pre-College English course from Saylor University and I have some questions with regard to their answers to certain tests. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Question 1

A. Grammar Practice:

You are supposed to find the subject and the verb and tell if the verb is action, linking, compound and/or a verb phrase.

1. eg. At three o'clock precisely, I was at Baker Street.

(I put linking which they have as the correct answer because I had no other choice, but I actually think it is a state of being verb. If it was a linking verb doesn't it have to be followed by a predicate nominative or a predicate adjective that refers to the subject?)

2. Thick clouds of smoke curled through the room.

(I put clouds for the subject, but they have clouds of smoke. In reality, "of smoke" is a prepositional phrase describing the subject, isn't it? Or is one a simple subject and the other a complex subject? I'm confused.  Or is smoke the actual subject?)

Question 2

B. Main Idea and Supporting Sentences Quiz:

I had to tell whether this is a simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex sentence. The answer says "compound-complex" but I think it is "compound". 

Sentence:

1. Larger birds such as parrots are good choices for families with older children, because they can be trained and they will interact with humans. 

Larger birds such as parrots are good choices for families with older children (independent clause)

they can be trained (independent clause)

they will interact with humans (independent clause)

There is no dependent clause, therefore it cannot be "compound-complex", because a complex sentence needs a dependent clause.  Or do I have to keep "because" with the second sentence, making it a dependent clause?

Grammar experts? What do you think?

[LizzyBee]

A1.  I agree with you.  Linking is the best answer from the choices given.

A2.  I agree with you - Clouds is the simple subject or thick clouds of smoke is the complete subject, so it doesn't make sense that the given answer is cloulds of smoke.

B1. I think because makes the compound sentences a dependent clause, so I agree with the answer key on that one.

[ThatHomeschoolDad]

"Because" is a subordinating conjunction, which makes that second clause dpendent, so it is a complex sentence. A compound-complex would have at least two inep. clauses and one dep. clause.

[Kendall]

I don't think linking is the right choice, though maybe the closest, but still inaccurate.  Intransitive is what I would want to choose.  The division of the answers is not a good one because the answers overlap.  A verb phrase can show action.  

[TrixieB]

I've started a Pre-College English course from Saylor University and I have some questions with regard to their answers to certain tests. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Question 2

 

B. Main Idea and Supporting Sentences Quiz:

 

I had to tell whether this is a simple, compound, complex, or compound-complex sentence. The answer says "compound-complex" but I think it is "compound". 

 

Sentence:

 

1. Larger birds such as parrots are good choices for families with older children, because they can be trained and they will interact with humans. 

 

Larger birds such as parrots are good choices for families with older children (independent clause)

 

they can be trained (independent clause)

because they can be trained (dependent clause)

 

they will interact with humans (independent clause)

and they will interact with humans (independent clause)

 

There is no dependent clause, therefore it cannot be "compound-complex", because a complex sentence needs a dependent clause.  Or do I have to keep "because" with the second sentence, making it a dependent clause? Yes.

 

Grammar experts? What do you think?

 

I'm not a grammar expert; R&S 8 is as far as I went.  I think compound-complex is correct.

 

 

[Kendall]

Here is a little more information that I looked up to back up my first thoughts on your question #1.

 

 

Descriptive English Grammar by House and Harmon makes the distinction between the being verb used as a linking verb and the being verb used as a full verb meaning exists.

 

The examples it gives of the being verb meaning exists are very similar to your sentence “was at Baker Street.â€

 

Linking verbs connect a subject to either a substantive(noun or noun substitute) or an attributive complement (adjective or adjective substitute).