Simple sentences

Simple sentences

Who did what?

This first snippet is about as simple as you can get in a sentence.

Mr Cartright sighed.

Flour BabiesAnne FineSource

Person-Action.

There's nothing else! No things, no qualities, no time or place.

Let's create our own sentences using exactly the same structure.

Chandi cried.

The Queen sniffed.

Your turn

'person' doesn't have to just be a name, or a proper noun ("Mr Cartright", "Chandi", "Lady Gray"...). It can be a pronoun ("I", "she", "they", "nobody", etc.), or even something more descriptive ("the folks back home", "the head of the toothpaste committee"). (Check out the Noun groups lesson for more on this).

The children of the Moodey Building cheered.

Hazel GreenOdo Hirsch

The 'action' can also be more complex, using helper verbs to change tense, modality, or give other shades of meaning. (Check out the Verb groups lesson for more about this).

"You're not going to die."

Alanna: The first adventureTamora PierceSource
Your turn

So you see, even these simple sentences can be quite long.

Like what you see?

You’re not logged in!

If you want to save your writing, login and either assign this lesson to yourself or access it via your class.