Examples Of Simple Sentences

Its name exemplifies the reason why it is one of the most preferred sentences – ‘simple’, such as the example, ‘The dog ate the meat’. Also known as an independent clause, a simple sentence is a type of sentence which includes a subject and a verb and conveys complete meaning without the help of a dependent clause. However, not all simple sentences constitute a single subject and verb; such a sentence may also include compound subjects, verbs and lengthy sentences, all conveying a single idea. So, deciding whether a sentence is simple or complex based on its length would be a mistake. In conversational language, simple sentence is the most commonly used while, in writing, it is effective in stating an argument or in conveying complete information. However, excessive use of simple sentences in writing makes your language appear silly though transitional phrases can be used to join one sentence to another. Read further to know about the various examples of simple sentences.

Simple Sentence Examples
Simple sentences are sentences which include a subject and a verb and convey the complete meaning without a dependent clause. It expresses a single idea as in these sentences:

Some students like to study in the mornings.
Joe waited for the train.
The train was late.
The girl ran to her room.
The baby cried.
The singer bowed.
The runner runs fast.
Nestor goes to the office early.
He plays cricket.
Joe waited for the train.
She works in a post office.
Greg works in a bank.
They live in Washington.
I eat breakfast at 8:00 a.m.
She goes to work at 9:00 a.m.
Eddy plays basketball every Friday.
Penny starts class at 10:00.
He don't drink beer.
The ice melts quickly.

Sometimes, the simple sentences can be as simple as,

Run!
Melt!

In few cases, intransitive verbs are used to form simple sentences,

Jill reads.
Drugs kill.
Change happens.
It's raining "cats and dogs."
The wind is blowing hard.

Sometimes, they can be longer and convey complex ideas such as,

Ellery J. Chun was the first person to make and sell Hawaiian shirts in July of 1936.
Look at the history embedded in the fibers of this shirt.
No aspect of life goes untouched by social class.
Perhaps this decline has already begun.
We have lost millions of manufacturing jobs to Mexico, South America, and Asia.
Moving up the class ladder also brings unexpected costs.

Some simple sentences also include compound subjects and compound verbs. Few sentences have a single subject and more than one verb or a single verb and more than one subject as in these examples

Juan and Arturo play football every afternoon.
The dog and the cat howled and yowled, respectively.
Alicia goes to the library and studies every day.
The management and staff were pleased to announce the results.
Mary and Samantha took the bus.
Mr. Chun called his shirts Aloha Shirts.
The dog barked and growled loudly.
At that time, both the Aloha Shirt and the Thousand Mile Shirt were worn by Islanders.
Missionaries and pioneers wore the Thousand Mile Shirt on the Mainland and popularized it on the Islands because of its ability to withstand dirt and grime.
Jack and Jill went up a hill.
Sociology and anthropology are both social sciences.

Some simple sentences have one subject-one verb construction and do not encourage commas, as in these sentences,

They worked hard and produced excellent results.
The company was very successful.
The company and its rivals offer competitive prices.
The management and staff negotiated and compromised excellently.
He displayed and sold them for a dollar apiece in his King-Smith store.

Though simple sentences are short, the usage of prepositional phrases, adverbs and adjectives may lengthen these sentences, but does not make them complex.

I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station.
The brown dog with the red collar always barks loudly.

Simple sentences are used not only in day-to-day conversation, but also in literature as in these sentences,

"Children are all foreigners."(Ralph Waldo Emerson)
"Mother died today."(Albert Camus, The Stranger, 1842)
"Of course, no man is entirely in his right mind at any time."(Mark Twain, The Mysterious Stranger)
“Early to rise and early to bed makes a male healthy and wealthy and dead."(James Thurber)
“I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismograph."(Ken Kesey)
“Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise."(Alice Walker)
"Atheism is a non-prophet organization."(George Carlin)

The world of simple sentences is a vast sea to explore. Going through this article will help you get familiarised with the concept.

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