Simple sentence

A simple sentence (sometimes called an independent clause) is a sentence that contains one subject and one verb.Brian Backman, Building Sentence Skills (Westminster, CA: Teacher Created Materials, 2003), p. 7 It has only one clause. It must also express a complete thought.Fred Obrecht, Minimum Essentials of English (Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series, 1999), p. 31 This follows the rules of syntax in English grammar.

 Length 
A simple sentence is not defined by how short it is.Gary Lutz; Diane Stevenson, The Writer's Digest Grammar Desk Reference (Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, 2005), p. 77 A simple sentences is often short and uncomplicated. But it is not limited by the number of words used to express the thought. For example:

 "Bill reads". This is a simple sentence. "Bill" is the subject and "reads" is the action (verb).
 "Being an English teacher with a penchant for syntactical complexity, I love to read simple sentences upon getting up and before going to bed." This is still a simple sentence even though it uses more words.

 Simple or dependent? 
A simple sentence or independent clause is one that has a meaning to a reader or listener. If the sentence does not complete the thought, it may be a dependent clause. A dependent clause is one that does not express a complete thought. By itself it is a sentence fragment. It may look like a simple sentence, but it will not make sense on its own. 

 "Bill reads". Again, a simple sentence. Bill (a noun for a subject) reads (the action that completes the thought). 
 "Because Bill wants to learn more." What happens because Bill wants to learn more? We do not know, so that is not a sentence. It is a dependent clause.

 Related pages 
 Sentence
 English grammar
 Compound sentence
 Complex sentence

 References 

 Other websites 
 Sentences: Simple, Compound, and Complex 

Category:English language
Category:Sentences