Which sentence type expresses a complete thought?

A compound sentence is characterized by its ability to express a complete thought, as it consists of two or more independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. Each clause in a compound sentence can stand alone as a complete sentence, which means they convey full ideas by themselves, making the overall sentence complete.

In contrast, a complex sentence can contain independent clauses but also includes one or more dependent clauses that do not convey complete thoughts on their own. Similarly, a dependent clause lacks the ability to stand alone as a complete thought, making it incapable of fulfilling this requirement. Thus, while both complex and dependent clauses can appear in various sentence constructions, they do not qualify as expressing complete thoughts by themselves. The primary feature that distinguishes the compound sentence as the correct answer is its composition of independent clauses that can function independently, thus forming a complete thought.