English Grammar Understanding the Basics - Evelyn P. Altenberg, Robert M. Vago 2010
Lesson 46: Simple sentences
Unit 16: Combining sentences
Part III: Getting started with sentences
Most of the sentences we’ve looked at so far in this book are simple sentences, which means that they are sentences that are made up of just one sentence. But sentences can be made up of more than one sentence. Let’s start by looking at a few sentences and comparing them.
1. The little boy laughed.
2. The little boy laughed and the little girl smiled.
3. The little boy laughed and the little girl smiled and their dog ran around in circles.
You can see that sentence 2 consists of two sentences joined by and that sentence 3 consists of three sentences joined by and. Each of the sentences that make up a larger sentence is called a clause. So sentence 1 contains one clause, sentence 2 contains two clauses, and sentence 3 contains three clauses. Just as words combine to form phrases, phrases combine to form clauses, and clauses can combine to form sentences. A clause must contain at least a noun phrase functioning as the subject and a main verb.
Quick tip 46.1
A clause is a free-standing sentence or a sentence within a sentence; a clause or sentence contains at least a subject and a main verb
Quick tip 46.2
A sentence can contain one or more clauses.
Here are some more examples of sentences containing only one clause:
4. That magazine looks interesting.
5. The officer followed the rules.
6. She greeted me at the door.
Notice that each contains only one subject and one verb phrase.
Quick tip 46.3
A sentence that contains only one clause, that is, one subject and one verb phrase, is called a simple sentence.
Are the following simple sentences?
7. on the floor
8. the extremely tall boy
9. were reading newspapers on the train
None of these contains both a subject and a verb phrase, and so these are not sentences at all; they’re just phrases. You may recognize sentence 7 as a preposition phrase, sentence 8 as a noun phrase, and sentence 9 as a verb phrase. (See Lessons 28, 29, and 30.)
Test yourself 46.1
In each simple sentence below, underline the subject and put a squiggly line beneath the verb phrase.
Getting started (answers on p. 231)
1. The committee presented its ideas to Congress.
2. I stayed in bed that day.
3. Nobody moved.
4. My favorite hotel is on Park Avenue.
5. I overslept today.
More practice (answers on the website)
6. We enjoy cruising on the Mississippi River.
7. Our cousin lives about an hour from us.
8. The young architect arrives in his office at 8:30 a.m. each weekday.
9. Whales are mammals.
10. Rain is good for the environment.
Test yourself 46.2
Decide if each item below is a simple sentence or just a phrase.
Sample: walking nearby phrase
Getting started (answers on p. 231)
1. I have never eaten caviar.
2. The department stores are having a sale this weekend.
3. Expensive antique jewelry.
4. Our home on the ranch.
5. Fresh-cut flowers on the table.
More practice (answers on the website)
6. Sailing around the world.
7. Sang my favorite song.
8. She is paying for her own tuition.
9. Exercising can leave you exhausted.
10. The bus is approaching.
What about sentences like the following?
10. That magazine and those books look interesting.
11. The officer and his men followed the rules.
12. She and her husband greeted me at the door.
The underlined part of each sentence is a compound noun phrase (see Lesson 43) and is considered to be one subject. So these sentences are all simple sentences. The same thing is true of compound verb phrases:
13. That magazine looks and seems interesting.
14. The officer followed the rules and saved the day.
15. She met and greeted me at the door.
The underlined parts of sentences 13-15 are compound verb phrases (see Lesson 44) and each is considered to be one verb phrase. So, again, these sentences are all simple sentences.