Dependent clauses and sentence structure

A sentence with an independent clause and one or more dependent clauses is referred to as a complex sentence. One with two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses is referred to as a compound-complex sentence.

* My sister cried because she scraped her knee. (complex sentence)
o Subjects: My sister, she
o Predicates: cried, scraped her knee
o Subordinating conjunction: because

* When they told me I won the contest, I cried, but I didn't faint. **(compound-complex sentence)
o Subjects: they, I, I, I
o Predicates: told me, won the contest, cried, didn't faint
o Subordinating conjunctions: When, that (understood)
o Coordinating conjunction: but

The above sentence actually contains two dependent clauses. "When they told me" is one; the other is "(that) I won the contest." The "that" is understood to precede the "I won" and functions as a subordinating conjunction.