Making sentences is the first and foremost step of heading ahead in English grammar. It is the fundamental concept that a person learns.
We were all taught how to write a sentence by joining two, three words. Such as “ she is big,” “I am strong”. However, these sentences are not just any sentences.
Once we start learning more, we realize that sentences are of many types. And the ones that we learned at the initial stage are one amongst them and are known as simple sentences. By its name, it might seem easy. However, we need to know even about the simplest things in detail.
What are simple sentences?
Simple sentences are nothing but the most basic sentences that we first formed in our kindergarten. They are the combination of two or more words that has a simple and straightforward meaning.
So, a simple sentence can be defined as a sentence consisting of only one clause. In other words, these sentences consist of an independent clause. These independent clauses are formed by joining a noun, verb, and object that has some meaning and can stand alone. Sometimes it also works without an object.
Let us understand with some examples;
- She likes cooking.
- John writes books.
- I ate lunch.
- They love playing.
The above examples are all simple sentences with a subject, verb and object.
Ways of forming a simple sentence
The first way of forming a simple sentence is easy. You just put together a subject and a verb and convey a thought.
However, simple sentences can have some spice sometimes. It is because simple sentences are not only used with simple words but also with modifiers. This means a simple sentence can also be formed with compound subjects and verbs.
Now, compound subjects are simply two or more subjects or nouns that are concerned with the same verb. They are presented by using coordinate conjunctions. For example;
Shila went to school.
This is a simple subject, verb sentence.
Shila and Sima went to school.
Here, we are using two nouns or subjects that share the same action or verb. Thus, these are called compound subjects. And this sentence is still considered a simple sentence.
Compound subjects are used with correlative conjunctions in a simple sentence as well. For example;
Both Shila and Sima went to school.
Here, even with the use of such compound subjects, it is an independent clause that indicates a complete thought and can stand alone.
Next are compound verbs. These are similar to compound subjects. Just that here two verbs or actions are performed by the same subject of the sentence. In a simple sense, this is used to show multiple works done by a single subject. For example;
She cooked her food and ate it.
Here, she has performed two tasks. But it is still an independent clause, making it a simple sentence.
So we see simple sentences are not so simple after all. While they may be just a combination of three, four words, how and what type of words we use is important. Otherwise, it will no longer be a simple sentence.
