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

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Compare meaning

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

• simple sentence vs. compound sentence

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

simple sentence

Donovan notes that Sarah suggesting Abraham lie with Hagar in Genesis 16 initially comes across as a straightforward and simple sentence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2026

Wiegman, who has demanded more ruthlessness from her players in recent months, summed up her emotions with one simple sentence: "I think I can be very satisfied tonight!"

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2022

You can combine short, repetitive sentences into a simple sentence with a compound predicate or subject, as in the first example below.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 21, 2021

It is tough to resist the opportunity to go for the cute, simple sentence when pointing out that "The Problem with Jon Stewart" has, shall we say, issues to overcome.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2021

Ifemelu imagined the insisting, a simple sentence, which would not need to be repeated and which would have Ovidio scrambling.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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