A simple sentence is the most basic sentence that we have in English. It has just one independent clause, which means only one subject and one predicate. A simple sentence is also the shortest possible sentence; it can have as little as two words!
Overall, a simple sentence is exactly what it sounds like—simple!
2. Examples
A simple sentence can be very short, but some are long too, so long as they only have one subject-verb combination. Here, the subjects are orange and the verbs are green.
I even .
I ate dinner.
I ate dinner with my brother and sister.
Last night, I ate dinner at a restaurant with my brother and sister.
As you can see, even though some of these sentences are long, each only has one subject and one verb (one clause).
A declarative sentence is a sentence that makes a statement – in other words, it declares something. This kind of sentence is used to share information – for instance, stating your point of view or a fact. Of the four kinds of sentences (declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory), it is by far the most common.
Think about your communication in daily life. Most of our communication is to give other people information. We tell people what we want, we give them answers to questions, we share ideas we have, tell people our opinions… in short, we are making declarations about the world as we see it. This kind of communication is what declarative sentences are for.
Do we only communicate to make declarations? No, of course not – we also ask questions, have emotional outbursts, and say things with a lot of emotion behind them. This type of communication is done with interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory sentences. But most of the time, people communicate by simply stating what is on their mind.
2. Examples of Declarative Sentences
Example 1
Toto, I’ve got a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore. – Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz
Dorothy speaks this declarative sentence to her dog after they arrive in Oz. She is informing Toto what she believes. (Whether or not Toto understands Dorothy is debatable.)
Proper noun- I can say, “Please walk the dog.” or “Please walk Buddy.” Note that “Please walk Buddy” doesn’t have a “the” in the sentence since I’ve already identified the specific dog that needs walking. One exception is when you’re referring to a kingdom or a republic. So you would say the United Kingdom, even though the United Kingdom is a proper noun and the name of a specific country.
