simple sentence

American  

noun

simple sentences plural

1. a sentence having only one clause, as I saw her the day before yesterday.

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simple sentence British  

noun

1. a sentence consisting of a single main clause Compare compound sentence complex sentence

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simple sentence Cultural  

1. A sentence containing only one independent clause and no dependent clauses: “He went home after class.” (Compare complex sentence, compound sentence, and compound-complex sentence.)

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• simple sentences
  plural

Compare meaning

How does simple-sentence compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• simple sentence vs. compound sentence

Example Sentences

And he sums himself up with one simple sentence.

From BBC • Dec. 4, 2025

He credits Welty with transforming him in one simple sentence.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 15, 2023

“It was a very simple sentence, but it profoundly effected everything I’ve done.”

From Washington Post • Jan. 6, 2022

The phrases in the long sentence add information, but the sentence remains a simple sentence nonetheless because it has only one clause.

From Textbooks • Dec. 21, 2021

My owl came back with a letter containing one simple sentence: “Tell your husband to refute these allegations about my son once and for all.”

From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling