Appendix 6: 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.