Simple sentence facts for kids

A simple sentence is a basic type of sentence. It has two main parts: a subject and a verb. The subject tells you who or what the sentence is about, and the verb tells you what the subject is doing or being. A simple sentence always expresses a complete idea, meaning it makes sense all by itself.

What Makes a Sentence Simple?

A simple sentence needs a subject and a verb. It also has to share a full idea. Think of it like this:

• The dog (subject) barked (verb). This is a simple sentence because it tells you who (the dog) and what they did (barked). It makes complete sense.
• She (subject) is happy (verb). This also makes sense on its own.

Subject and Verb Explained

The subject is usually a noun or a pronoun. It's the person, animal, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about.

The verb shows an action or a state of being. It tells you what the subject does or what it is like.

Examples of Simple Sentences

• Birds (subject) fly (verb).
• The sun (subject) shines (verb).
• My friend (subject) laughed (verb) loudly.
• They (subject) are students (verb).

How Long Can a Simple Sentence Be?

A simple sentence isn't simple because it's short. It can be short and easy, but it can also be quite long. The number of words doesn't change if it's a simple sentence. What matters is that it only has one main subject and one main verb that express a complete thought.

• "Bill (subject) reads (verb)." This is a very short simple sentence.
• "The clever, quick-thinking student (subject) finished (verb) the difficult math problem before anyone else in the class." This sentence is much longer, but it still has only one main subject ("The clever, quick-thinking student") and one main verb ("finished"). It expresses one complete idea.

Simple or Dependent?

A simple sentence is also called an independent clause because it can stand alone. It has a full meaning for anyone reading or listening.

But sometimes, a group of words might look like a sentence but doesn't make full sense. This is called a dependent clause or a sentence fragment. It depends on another part of a sentence to make sense.

• "Bill (subject) reads (verb)." This is a simple sentence. It makes sense.
• "Because Bill (subject) wants (verb) to learn more." This group of words has a subject and a verb, but it starts with "Because." This makes it sound like something else should follow. What happens because Bill wants to learn more? We don't know from just this part. So, it's a dependent clause, not a simple sentence. It's a fragment on its own.