Sometime we combine a compound sentence and a complex sentence into one sentence. A compound sentence joins two simple sentences with one of the FANBOYS.
I will cook dinner, and you can set the table.
If we add a dependent clause using a subordinating conjunction, we get a compound-complex sentence.
When we get home from the park, I will cook dinner, and you can set the table.
Here are more examples of the compound-complex sentence:
While we were waiting for you, I made the bed, and John walked the dog.
Jim is washing the car, and I will do some laundry unless you want me to help dry the dishes.
I wanted to drive to school, but I can’t use the car because it has a flat tire.
In each of these sentences, you can find the FANBOYS conjunction that joins two simple sentences into a compound sentence. You can also find the subordinating conjunction that joins the subordinate clause to the compound sentence. That is how we make a compound-complex sentence.
A compound-complex sentence has a subordinate clause joined to a compound sentence. You will find both a coordinating conjunction (one of the FANBOYS) and a subordinating conjunction inside a compound-complex sentence.
▶Now you try it. Here is a subordinate clause: When I get home from school, Think of a compound sentence that you can add to this clause to make a compound-complex sentence. Did you do it? Good for you!