Below are explanations for the two Sentence Variety Samples:

Sentence Variety from Siddartha

Joy leapt in his father's heart for his son who was quick to learn, thirsty for knowledge; he saw him growing up to become a great wise man and priest, a prince among the Brahmans.

As the interactive exercise instructs, the first step is to highlight the Main Verb Phrases to determine the clauses for analysis:

Joy leapt in his father's heart for his son who was quick to learn, thirsty for knowledge; he saw him growing up to become a great wise man and priest, a prince among the Brahmans.

There appears to be three clauses in the sentence:

1. JOY LEAPT IN HIS FATHER'S HEART: independent clause
2. WHO WAS QUICK TO LEARN: dependent clause - WHO is the dependent marker
3. HE SAW HIM GROWING UP TO BECOME A GREAT WISE MAN AND PRIEST: indpendent clause

• 2 Independent Clauses; 1 Dependent Clause
• Compound-Complex Sentence

Challenge Sample

In the shade of the house, in the sunshine of the riverbank near the boats, in the shade of the Sal-wood forest, in the shade of the fig tree, Siddhartha grew up, the handsome son of the Brahman, the young falcon, together with his friend Govinda, son of a Brahman. The sun tanned his light shoulders by the banks of the river when bathing, performing the sacred ablutions, the sacred offerings. In the mango grove, shade poured into his black eyes, when playing as a boy, when his mother sang, when the sacred offerings were made, when his father, the scholar, taught him, when the wise men talked. For a long time, Siddhartha had been partaking in the discussions of the wise men, practising debate with Govinda, practising with Govinda the art of reflection, the service of meditation. He already knew how to speak the Om silently, the word of words, to speak it silently into himself while inhaling, to speak it silently out of himself while exhaling, with all the concentration of his soul, the forehead surrounded by the glow of the clear-thinking spirit. He already knew to feel Atman in the depths of his being, indestructible, one with the universe.

For this passage, there are six sentences. First, separate the passage into individual sentences, then highlight the Main Verb Phrases of each sentence to determine the clauses for analysis:

In the shade of the house, in the sunshine of the riverbank near the boats, in the shade of the Sal-wood forest, in the shade of the fig tree, Siddhartha grew up, the handsome son of the Brahman, the young falcon, together with his friend Govinda, son of a Brahman.

1. SIDDHARTHA GREW UP: independent clause

• 1 Independent Clause
• Simple Sentence
• 12 prepositional phrases are not clauses

The sun tanned his light shoulders by the banks of the river when bathing, performing the sacred ablutions, the sacred offerings.

1. THE SUN TANNED HIS LIGHT SHOULDERS: independent clause

• 1 Independent Clause
• Simple Sentence
• BATHING, PERFORMING, and OFFERINGS are gerund phrases, not clauses

In the mango grove, shade poured into his black eyes, when playing as a boy, when his mother sang, when the sacred offerings were made, when his father, the scholar, taught him, when the wise men talked.

1. SHADE POURED INTO HIS BLACK EYES: independent clause
2. WHEN HIS MOTHER SANG: dependent clause - WHEN is the dependent marker
3. WHEN THE SACRED OFFERINGS WERE MADE: dependent clause - WHEN is the dependent marker
4. WHEN HIS FATHER, THE SCHOLAR, TAUGHT HIM: dependent clause - WHEN is the dependent marker
5. WHEN THE WISE MEN TALKED: dependent clause - WHEN is the dependent marker

• 1 Independent Clause; 4 Dependent Clauses
• Complex Sentence
• WHEN PLAYING is a prepositional phrase - PLAYING is a gerund
• WERE MADE is passive - Is this an effective stylistic choice?

For a long time, Siddhartha had been partaking in the discussions of the wise men, practising debate with Govinda, practising with Govinda the art of reflection, the service of meditation.

1. SIDDHARTHA HAD BEEN PARTAKING IN THE DISCUSSIONS OF THE WISE MEN: independent clause
• 1 Independent Clause
• Simple Sentence
• PRACTISING DEBATE and PRACTISING WITH GOVINDA are both present participle phrase, not clauses

He already knew how to speak the Om silently, the word of words, to speak it silently into himself while inhaling, to speak it silently out of himself while exhaling, with all the concentration of his soul, the forehead surrounded by the glow of the clear-thinking spirit.

1. HE ALREADY KNEW HOW TO SPEAK THE OM SILENTLY: independent clause
• 1 Independent Clause
• Simple Sentence
• TO SPEAK, TO SPEAK, INHALING, TO SPEAK, EXHALING are all non-finite verb phrases, not clauses

He already knew to feel Atman in the depths of his being, indestructible, one with the universe.

1. HE ALREADY KNEW TO FEEL ATMAN IN THE DEPTHS OF HIS BEING: independent clause
• 1 Independent Clause
• Simple Sentence
• IN THE DEPTHS, OF HIS BEING, and WITH THE UNIVERSE are prepositional phrases, not clauses

Tips to Keep in Mind

The KEY MARKER for identifying sentence variety is the ability to recognize Independent Clauses and Dependent Clauses. Don't be confused by non-finite verb phrasese, especially, or prepositional phrases. REMEMBER: sentence variety only refers to clauses in the sentence.