Sentence/Grammar Help?

Question

I need help on sentence construction and I am suffering in english.

A1: A gusty breeze made a constant play of swirls and ripples on the cogon, as though a distracted artist were beginning whimsical thoughts and ending them abruptly.

A2: Then they dig their knees and elbows into the dirt and began inching forward, pulling themselves through the long straight rows of dried rice.

Questions

1. Which one of the 2 sentences above is complex?

2. What is "ending"?(verb, participle, gerund)

3. Is "inching" (A2) a verb, participle, gerund?

4. What is the verb in the main clause of A1?

5.In A1, how is "ripples" functioning?

6. Make "pulling" in A2 a gerund. Do not change the sentence, but you may add a word:

7.What type of pronoun is "themselves"?

8. What is the subject of "began" in A2?

9. How is "them" functioning in A1?

10. If one sentence above is complex, what is the other sentence?

Answer 1

1. A2

2. verb - full verb is 'were ending' - the 'were' is understood. Subjunctive verb.

3. Gerund - verb form used as a noun.

4. Made

5. Object of preposition 'of'

6. 'while pulling' - makes 'pulling' into an object of preposition 'while' and therefore a gerund.

7. Reflexive

8. they

9. Direct object of 'were ending'.

10. Compound.