Writing isn’t easy for anybody. You have to have to think of a topic, a governing idea, several talking points, and specific details and information for each point. On top of that, you have to write in a way that is interesting and accurate. You can get ideas by learning and thinking, but you have to write accurately by following grammar rules.
I was a college English instructor for about 10 years, and I helped students improve their writing. I wrote a book about writing students used in their college classes, I developed online classes, I delived many presentations, and I created handouts to help students learn strategies for better writing.
Fortunately, many of these strategies are not very complicated. One of the most important strategies is to organize words in a sentence. There are only three types of sentences:
Simple Sentences
Compound Sentences
Complex Sentences
In this week’s newsletter, I’ll describe simple sentences. Don’t let the term “simple” fool you. Simple sentences are powerful. They are direct and to the point. This makes them sound confident and certain; the writer isn’t making any qualifying statements or wasting time with flowery language.
But “simple” sentences can also be long and sprawling. You can always add descriptive language and prepositional phrases if you want to.
They can also be challenging. You can only make so many direct, individual declarative statements. In order for sentences to build paragraphs and articles and books, you have to connect them together with both previous sentences and with the ones that follow. It’s challenging to do that with a simple sentence; sentences sound disjointed if too many simple sentences are written in a row.
Basic Components: Subject + Verb
The basic components of a simple sentence are the Subject and the Verb.
The Subject = The Actor
The subject is the “agent” of the sentence. It is the person or thing or idea of the sentence. But the subject isn’t just any thing; not any noun will do. The subject is the thing that performs an action; it does stuff.
Here is an example: “Under the bridge, the troll plots his revenge.”
The bridge is a thing, but it is not the subject of the sentence. It doesn’t do anything. Instead, the troll is the subject. The troll is doing something; it is plotting.
It’s a good idea to place the subject near the beginning of the sentence. Readers expect to see the subject within the first five to seven words. That’s because when readers see a noun (a person, place, thing, idea), they assume it’s the subject of the sentence. They assume that noun is going to do something. If it doesn’t, readers have to adjust their understanding, and that causes confusion and frustration.
Also, it’s a good idea to write about subjects that readers can understand. The actions of people, organizations, countries, groups, animals, and a few supernatural beings like ghosts and monsters are easy to understand. But it’s difficult for readers to understand sentences when the subject is something philosophical or abstract, such as a philosophical idea, a financial or economic concept, or another specialized term.
Readers expect to see subjects doing things. It’s difficult to understand how abstract ideas like “reverse mortgages” or “economic depreciation” can do things.
So here are a few rules about subjects:
Sentences need subjects. Without a subject, the sentence is not complete. It is a grammatical error.
The subject of the sentence needs to be “the actor” of the sentence - the thing that does stuff. Every sentence needs to describe how something is doing something.
The subject should be near the beginning of the sentence. You can start with a short transition or prepositional phrase, but don’t push the subject too far into the sentence.
The subject should be something the reader can visualize or understand. It’s difficult to read sentences about an abstract concepts.
Other rules about subjects:
Pronouns should match the subject.
Try to use the same subject throughout a paragraph. If the subject (major idea of the sentence or paragraph) changes, consider starting a new paragraph to show the change in topic.
The Verb = The Action
The second important component of the sentence is the verb. The verb is supposed express an action.
Unfortunately, not all verbs express an action. Here is an example: “The girl is sweet.” The word “is” is the verb. But it’s not doing anything; there is no action. The girl simply is; she simply exists. So, writers have to choose action words.
Sometimes, the action word doesn’t look like a verb. Here is an example: “The elimination of insects is a major goal for all home owners.” In this sentence, “elimination” is an action, but it is not a verb; it is a noun. Instead, “is” is the verb.
Where is the subject? “Elmination” is a noun, but the sentence is not about “elimination.” Well… it is now… because “elimination” is at the start of the sentence. But “elimination” is not the agent or do-er of the sentence. Instead, “home owners” are doers. They are the real subject.
Rewrite the sentence. Move “home owners” to the beginning:
All home owners…
What do home owners do? Look for the action:
Elimination = Eliminate
Goal = Have a Goal = Wish
All home owners wish to eliminate insects from their home.
That’s a clearer sentence. The subject (home owners) is at the start of the sentence. And the verb “wish to eliminate” is now an action. And, the action (wish to eliminate) is now a verb.
One more rule: Keep the verb close to the subject. Don’t put too many words in between the subject and the verb.
Here is an example: Dr. Walter, beloved dentist and former mayor of the town who brought fame and fortune to Smallville residents, died yesterday.
What’s the subject? Dr. Walter.
What’s the verb? Died.
Notice how far apart the two words are from each other. When people read this sentence, they have to wait to figure out what Dr. Walter did. Then, after they read all that biographical information, they figure out that he died. Don’t write sentences like that. It keeps the reader waiting.
Instead, write two sentences, like this: Dr. Walter died yesterday. He was a beloved dentist and former major of Smallville who brought fame and fortune to the town.
So here are a few rules about verbs:
Sentences need verbs. Without a verb, the sentence is a fragment and a grammatical error.
Make the verb active by choosing an action word.
Put action words in verbs, not nouns.
Keep the verb close to the subject.
Other rules: Keep verbs in the same present, past, or future tense. Match the verb with the subject (singular or plural).
Other Parts of a Sentence
There are many other parts you can add to a simple sentence.
Introductory Word or Phrase. You can add a word, transition, or prepositional phrase to the beginning of the sentence. These can include words like: First, Second, Next, Furthermore, Similarly, On the other hand, For example, For instance, In contrast, Under the bridge, In 1819, A long time ago, Once upon a time…. and many, many more. These words can provide some direction in time or space, and they can help connect one sentence to another.
Another Subject. Some sentences describe the actions of two or more subjects. You can use “and,” “or,” or make a list to describe the actions of more than one agent. Example: “Mark and Bill run the business.”
Another Verb. Some subjects do two things in the same sentence (“run and jump,” “hop and skip,” “search and destroy”). These two verbs can be connected together.
Another Subject and Another Verb. Sometimes, one subject does one thing, and another subject does something else. You can write these in one simple sentence by writing two sets of subjects and verbs. Make sure to place the correct verb next to the correct subject. Here is an example: “Robert announced his plan as Becky talked behind his back.” You can see there are two people doing two things in the same sentence. (It is more common to use a different sentence structure for sentences like this… instead of simple sentences.)
Adjectives. Adjectives describe nouns and subjects, and they often go before the noun or subject. They provide additional details about the subject to help readers visualize and better understand the subject. Example: “The tall girl reached the top shelf. Both “tall” and “top” describe nouns.
Adverbs. Adverbs describe verbs-actions, and they are often written as -ly words but not always. These words provide additional details about the action. They can be written next to the verb or near the end of the sentence. Example: “She ran out of the room swiftly and angrily.” “Swiftly” and “angrily” describe the verb, how she “ran” out of the room.
Prepositional Phrase. Prepositional phrases provide information related to time and location, and several of them can be written one after another. They provide details about the subject and action of the sentence, and they make simple sentences longer. Here is an example: “Robert announced his plan on a stormy Tuesday afternoon while standing in the rain at an outdoor podium.” Prepositional phrases - “on a stormy Tuesday afternoon,” “in the rain,” “at an outdoor podium” - provide specific details that help readers understand the setting and situation of the sentence.
Direct Object. When a subject (agent) of the sentence does something to something else, that something else is called a “direct object.” In other words, the direct object is the receiver of the action. For example, in the sentence “He broke the chair,” “the chair” is the direct object. Sentences can include more than one direct objects. They allow subjects to interact with things, and they can help create some tension or a story about how the subject is doing something to the direct object.
Indirect Object. Some action verbs are a little more unique. They require an agent (subject), a direct object (another thing the subject acts on), and an “indirect object” which is usually a receiver of the direct object. For example: “He gave the student another book.” In this example, “he” is the subject, “another book” is the direct object, and “the student” is the indirect object (receiver). Indirect objects add more details to sentences, and they help describe relationships.
Parallelism
When adding additional parts to a sentence, it’s important to make the two or three parts sound the same. This is called “parallelism.”
One way to maintain sameness is in a list. Items in a list should be the same grammatical unit, such as all nouns, all adjectives, all verbs, or all combinations of adjectives and nouns, or adverbs and verbs. Example: “He likes candy, gum, and soda.” All of these are nouns. “He likes running, jogging, and swimming.” All of these are verbs. “She likes romantic sunsets, private vacations, and expensive jewelry.” These are all nouns with an adjective.
Another way to maintain sameness is when the sentence has two parts. Both parts need to have the same grammar, and they often have the same wording. This is often used for longer parts of the sentence that are joined together or to build repetition and a bit of poetry. Often, there is a “hinge word” such as “and,” “or,” “but,” and so on. Example: “We will fight with our swords and with our brains.” “Give me death or give me liberty!”
Review
Simple sentences are straight-forward, direct sentences that often have only one subject and one verb. They are powerful because they are to the point, and this makes the writer sound confident. The writer can make a direct statement as if it’s the absolute truth.
The basic building block of a simple sentence is the subject and the verb. These need to be clear, near the beginning of the sentence, and close together.
Simple sentences can also add many other components, such as adjectives, adverbs, prepositional phrases, introductory words and transitions, direct objects, and indirect objectives. These components make the sentence more complex becuase they provide more details. They can also suggest emotions and relationships.
Simple sentences can also include a flair of the creative and the poetic by using lists and repetition.
Thank you for reading my newsletter. I taught writing for over 10 years, and I also offer editing and proofreading services for other writers. I enjoy helping others express themselves more effectively through writing, and I enjoy playing with words.
Have you always wanted to write your book, website, or social media profile? Do you have ideas and rough drafts, but you don’t know how to put it together? Contact me, and let’s make a plan.