Simple or complex sentences.

Anonymous Hi,Is this sentence simple or complex?Moving down the steep hill, Jack slipped and fell in the snow.Are those sentences that contain phrases such as infinitive phrases, gerung, or participial and contain just one subject simple or complex?Thanks.

It's a double sentence, sometimes called a compound one, with two main clauses linked by conjunction "and

I would not call a sentence with a compound predicate (one subject, two verbs) a compound sentence.

Jack slipped and Jill slid -- that would be a compound sentence.

Yes. I agree.

I have the same question. I think neither of you answered it.

My characterization (which others may disagree with) is that the first part is not clause, so it's not a complex sentence. The first part simply modifies the main subject. My understanding (again, which may be wrong) is that you need two clauses (each with a subject and a finite verb) for a complex sentence. The participle form of the verb as a modifier doesn't meet this criteria.

I agree with GG. You could call the sentence a complex one if the participle part of the sentence was changed into a clause with a finite verb: When Jack was moving down the hill, he slipped and fell in the snow. So, I'd describe the sentence as double one, i.e. comprising two simple sentences with the participle clause functioning as an adverbial.

This is from Purdue Owl:

Complex Sentence: A sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
Dependent clause: a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word.
Dependent Marker Word: a word added to the beginn