Simple Sentences

Most of us learned how to put three words together to make sentences in kindergarten: I love puppies! Games are fun! Let's learn all about simple sentences!

What Is a Simple Sentence?

A simple sentence is a grammatical structure that consists of one independent clause, which expresses a complete thought or idea. It typically contains a subject, which is the person or thing performing the action, and a predicate, which is the verb describing the action.

Simple Sentences: Structure

Simple sentences do not contain any dependent or subordinate clauses, which means they cannot be divided into smaller sentence structures. Now, let's see some examples of a simple sentence:

I can cook very well.

Sam is my close friend.

He was continuing to manipulate me.

Sam, Liza, and Jane are working at a bank.

This is a simple sentence with a compound subject made up of three simple subjects.

Tip!

All sentences must have at least one independent clause.

Complex Examples of Simple Sentences

A simple sentence can be long and complicated, but as long as it has only one subject and one predicate., it is considered a simple sentence. See these examples:

Michael and Sara like cooking and baking but hate washing the dishes and cleaning.

This is still a simple sentence. There are no dependent clauses.

Kamchatka brown bear and Eurasian brown bear feed on blueberries, crowberries, humpback salmon, and steelhead in the summer and eat nuts from nut-pines and mountain ash, and fish in the winter.

Simple Sentences vs. Compound Sentences

A compound sentence has at least two independent clauses. For example, take the last example. It has one compound subject, therefore it is a simple sentence. Now, imagine the sentence was like this:

Kamchatka brown bear feeds on blueberries, crowberries, humpback salmon, and steelhead, and Eurasian brown bear eats nuts from nut-pines and mountain ash, and fish.

In this example, there are two subjects 'Kamchatka brown bear' and 'Eurasian brown bear,' each governing its own verb. This is an examples of a compound sentence, not a simple sentence.

Use of Comma

an example of a simple sentence

Pay attention to the use of commas in the examples above. When the sentence has two separate subjects, you have to separate the two independent clauses with a comma. But when it is a simple sentence, there is no need for commas. Let's take a look at another example:

Michael likes cooking and loves eating.

one subject → simple sentence → no comma

Michael likes cooking but hates cleaning up.

one subject → simple sentence → no comma

Michael likes cooking, and Sara loves eating.

two separate subjects → compound sentence → comma

Michael likes cooking, but Sara hates cleaning up.

two separate subjects → compound sentence → comma

How to Identify an Independent Clause

To be able to spot an independent clause easily, remember the following rules:

Rule #1

An independent clause must have at least one subject and one finite verb.
The main clause will never have two subjects or two main verbs.

Sally prefers to have pineapples and Canadian bacons on her pizza instead of cheese and Buffalo Sauce.

Although this example has a long predicate with lots of modifiers, it still has only one independent clause and therefore is a simple sentence, because there is just one subject, Sally, and one predicate.

The merchant, having much property to sell, caused all his goods to be conveyed on camels, there being no railway in that country

In this sentence, there are five different verbs, 'having,' 'to sell,' 'caused,' 'conveyed,' 'being.' Out of these, only one verb is finite i.e. 'caused.' The sentence is therefore simple.

Rule #2

If there is a transition word or subordinating conjunction at the beginning of a clause, then the clause is dependent. For example:

Although Max is a really shy person, he still loves to talk to people and make friends.

The first clause begins with a transition word, although. This clause depends on another clause to make sense, and therefore is incomplete without an independent clause.

Dependent Markers

Dependent markers are words that are normally added to the beginning of independent clauses and turn them into dependent clauses. Some common dependent markers are: after, although, as, because, before, if, unless, when, whether, etc.

Rule #3

Unlike dependent clauses, we cannot connect independent clauses with a comma. We must connect them using one of these strctures:

a semicolon
a semicolon + a subordinating conjunction + a comma
a comma + a coordinating conjunction

Cows are domestic animals; wolves are wild animals.

Independent Markers

There are two types of words that can be used as connectors at the beginning of an independent clause: coordinating conjunctions (such as 'for', 'and', 'nor', 'but', 'or', 'yet', 'so') and independent markers, such as 'also', 'consequently', 'furthermore', 'however', 'nevertheless', 'therefore', etc.

Review

To sum up, a simple sentence must have one related subject and one related verb. None of the examples below are simple. They are both examples of compound sentences.

Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow hasn't arrived yet.

I have just today, and I am going to be happy in it.

But these sentences are examples of simple sentences:

I want to join the gym and get in better shape than you.

In wedding ceremonies, brides choose their bridesmaids and honor attendant and host the bridesmaids' luncheon.

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What Is a Simple Sentence?
- Complex Examples of Simple Sentences
- Use of Comma
Review

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