As for the definition of a simple sentence, it is a message that communicates a complete meaning and for the message to be possible it must incorporate a verb form.
Main characteristics of the simple sentence
These types of sentences generally have two phrases, a noun phrase and a verbal phrase, and each of them has its corresponding nucleus (a noun for the noun phrase and a verb for the verb phrase). Both nuclei are coordinated in gender (masculine and feminine) and in number (singular and plural).
In the following simple sentence it is possible to appreciate these characteristics: "The interpreters sang a song." On the one hand, it is observed that there is a noun phrase (the interpreters) and a verb phrase that acts as a predicate (they sang a song) and the nucleus of the noun phrase is formed by the word interpreters and the nucleus of the verb phrase is formed by the verbal form they sang. As you can see, both nuclei are plural.
It should be noted that it may be the case that a simple sentence lacks a noun phrase, as is the case with impersonal sentences (for example, "It's a horrible day" is a simple sentence because it has a complete meaning but does not have a subject) . This implies that the simple sentence must have at least one verb form.
In relation to syntax, the simple sentence is an independent structure, that is, it is not part of a larger structure, as is the case with compound sentences. Thus, in the sentence "I wonder if the lady spoke sincerely" we are dealing with a compound sentence, made up of a main structure (I wonder) and a subordinate structure (she spoke sincerely).
Intonation is another of the characteristics of the simple sentence. The intonation indicates what the intention of the speaker is, that is, if he intends to state something, ask or exclaim
In short, a simple sentence has three aspects:
1) is a linguistic unit with complete meaning and that transmits a specific intention,
2) has an independent syntactic construction and with a minimum of one conjugated verb and
3) maintains its own intonation.
Simple sentence types
With regard to the intention of the speaker, simple sentences are divided into enunciative, interrogative, exclamatory, imperative, wishful thinking and doubtful.
Depending on the nature of the predicate, simple sentences are classified into predicative or attributive sentences. On the other hand, simple sentences can be presented as active or passive (active sentences are those in which the subject performs the action and in passive sentences the subject does not perform the action but receives it).
Photos: Fotolia - bakhtiarzein / stockvectorsstoker
