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A simple sentence contains only one independent clause.
An independent clause is a group of words that has a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a complete thought. These kinds of sentences have only one independent clause, and they don't contain any subordinate clauses. They express only one main idea. Let's look at some examples!
Simple | Not Simple |
---|---|
I love kumquats. | I love kumquats, and you love bananas. (This sentence is compound.) |
Maria loves limes. | Although she hates lemons, Maria loves limes. (This sentence is complex.) |
Maria served punch and cake. | Maria served punch and cake because they are delicious, and her guests loved them! (This sentence is compound-complex.) |
Subject | Marshall and Allie play basketball. |
Verb | The players dribbled and shot the basketball. |
Direct Object | The team won the game and the tournament. |
Predicate Adjective | They felt happy and elated. |
Object of the Preposition | The team ate at Dairy Queen and McDonalds. |
You can learn more about simple sentences with compound elements here.
Sentence diagramming gives us a way to show the structure of sentences. Check it out! This is how to diagram any sentence classified as simple. The subject and verb go on the same horizontal line. Draw a vertical line between the subject and verb.
I kicked the ball.
Compound Subjects & Compound Verbs
Here are examples of how you would diagram a compound subject and verb.
Lewis and Alice played in the backyard.
Lewis and Alice played in the backyard and read in the house.
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Understand the simple sentence? Learn about other sentence structures.