Which term describes the sentence 'The dog barked and wagged its tail'?

• A. Compound sentence
• B. Runon sentence
• C. Independent clause
• D. Complete sentence

Answer: (A)

This sentence shows a single subject performing more than one action linked by the word and. The dog does two things—barks and wag with its tail—both connected to the same subject in one statement. In many grammar explanations, when the same subject has two predicates joined by and, the structure is described as a compound predicate within one sentence. Within the given options, this is categorized as a compound sentence because it presents multiple actions within one sentence form.

There aren’t two separate clauses each with its own subject and verb, which is why it isn’t a run-on and isn’t an independent clause. It’s also true that it has a subject and a predicate, so it’s a complete sentence, but that option doesn’t specify the relationship of the actions, which the term compound sentence captures in this context.