Simple Sentences


A simple sentence must include a subject and a verb.

Subjects

Subjects are the nouns (person, place, thing) that does the verb.

  • I sing.
  • Ana shops.
  • Emelie dances.
  • The school is good.
  • My house is blue.
  • The store has clothes.

Verbs

The verb is the action or state.

  • I sing.
  • Ana shops.
  • Emelie dances.
  • The school is good.
  • My house is blue.
  • The car stops.

It is also possible to have two or more subjects and/or two or more verbs.

  • I sing and dance.
  • We see, hear, smell, taste, and feel.
  • Ana and Emelie shop.
  • Your parents, sister, and brother visit.

Complement

A simple sentence can have a complement. The complement is a word or phrase that adds more information about a part of the sentence.

A simple sentence can have an object as a complement. The object is the noun that receives the action. A sentence can have two or more objects.

  • We eat lunch.
  • We eat lunch and dinner.
  • Yuri buys clothes.
  • Yuri buys clothes, shoes, and hats.
  • They listen to music.
  • The university has many students.
  • My friend calls me.
  • Charlie throws the ball to me.
  • The book gives the instructions.

A simple sentence can also have other words or phrases as a complement. The other words or phrases might include adjectives, prepositions, or adverbs.

  • We eat lunch quickly.
  • Yuri buys clothes at the store.
  • They listen to music on their phones.
  • The university has many students.
  • My friend calls me after class.
  • The book gives the instructions to make cookies.