A simple sentence is composed essentially of a subject and a verb. I may also include: complement, but not necessarily.

1. Subject

A simple subject is a noun or noun equivalent. A compound subject consists of two or more nouns and/or noun-equivalents. The complete subject is a simple or compound subject with its modifiers.

Examples:

• The red coat in that chair belongs to Mary.  (simple subject)
• The read coat and scarf in that chair belong to Mary. (compound subject)
• The red coat in that chair belongs to Mary.
• The read coat and scarf in that chair belong to Mary.

2. Determining the Subject

The subject can be determined by asking “who” or “what” + the verb.

Commands or Requests.

The subject is you in sentences expressing a command or a request. The subject you, however is not expressed.

Examples:

• Get up!
• Put the book on the table.
• Please close the door.
• Open your books to page Five.

Statements.

(1)In a complete subject (simple) there is a key word (the simple subject) whose person and number determines the person and number of the verb.

Examples:

• The man in the dark suit is a detective.
• The men are soldiers.
• I’m a teacher.
• We are students.
• Neither of the students knows the answer.
• Hundreds of exited people were injured.
• Many of the windows are broken.
• One of the airplanes is landing.

(2) In a complete subject (compound) there are two or more key words usually joined by one or more conjunctions (the compound subject). Since this type of subject is plural by definition, the number of the verb which it controls will also be plural (for an exception to this, see below). But a plurals of verbs in English are the same for all persons, agreement of person need not to be considered.

Examples:

• Mars and Jupiter are planets.
• Tom, Joe and Bob are friends.
• Most Americans, and many foreigners, like American movies.
• He and I were classmates twenty years ago.

Exception: A compound subject is sometimes felt or considered as a unit and may then take a singular verb.

Example: A comfortable chair, a book and a warn fire, is all a man needs to be happy on a winter night.

Questions.

Notice the position of the subject in the question pattern.

Examples:

• How often have you visited the zoo?
• In how many different airplanes have you flown?
• Can you tell me the time?

 The interrogativeswhat, who, whose or which may or may not be the subject.  In the following examples the simple subject will be underlined.

Examples:

• The train caused the accident.
• What caused the accident?

• Bill erased the board.
• Who erased the board?

• One of the students speaks good English.
• Who speaks good English?

• He suggested something.
• What did he suggest?

• He talked to me.
• Whom did he talk to?

• She likes this plan.
• Which plan does she like?

3. The verb

The essential verb element in a simple sentence may be a single word (imperative, simple present, simple past).

Examples:

• Go away.
• He goes.
• He went.

 Or it may be a series of such single words.

Examples:

• Stop, look, and listen.
• He looks, listens, stops, turns back.

It may be a modal or other auxiliary in combination with a verb stem or past or present participle (all of the compound tenses: whether active or passive, regular, or progressive).

Examples:

• The class will begin at 11:00 and will finish at 11:50.
• The student has been sick, has recovered, and has returned to class.
• He and his friend have been staying out late, missing classes, and failing their examinations.
• He had been introduced to her, had asked her for a date, and had been refused.

However complicated some of the above examples may appear, they are all (grammatically speaking) simple sentences, since each has but one subject (whether simple or compound). The verb or verbs in each agree with that subject in number and person.  This agreement between a single subject and its associated verb element is the backbone of the simple sentence.

(Note that in the case of compound tenses, it is the auxiliaries with agree which agree with the subject; not the participles or stems, which are invariable)

Example: He has been visiting them.

4. Agreement of subject and verb

The verb or auxiliary agrees in person and number with its subject.

Examples:

• The book is on the desk.
• The books are on the desk.
• I am going.
• He is going.
• They are going.
• The table for the ladies is reserved.
• The books for Mr. Smith are here.
• The suggestion made by the students is good.

Some pronouns always require a singular form of the verb, some always require a plural form of the verb and some may use either.

Singular

Someone No one One Either Neither

He She It This That

Somebody Nobody Anybody   Each

Something Nothing Anything

Examples:

• No one is absent today.
• Everyone has his own book.
• Somebody leaves his book in the room every day.
• Everybody knows where the bank is.
• Nothing disturbs him.
• Something is happening over there.
• Either of the sentences sounds good.
• Neither of the cars look good to me.
• Each of the students spends a lot of time in the lab.
• Much of the work has been done at night.

Plural

Few, several, both, many, these, those, etc. require the plural form of the verb.

Examples:

• A few of the students know how to drive.
• Several of the people were hurt in the accident.
• Both of my shoes are dirty.
• Many of the questions were very easy.
• These are dry.

Some, none, all, most, select either the singular of plural form of the verb depending on the number of the noun in the modifying phrase.

Examples:

• Some of the paper istorn.
• Some of the books are lost.
• None of the food is good.
• All of the cake isgone.
• All of the pilots are being briefed.
• Most of the snow has melted.
• Most of my friends have gone home.

Collective Nouns.

A collective noun names a group. If the group is considered as a unit, use a singular verb. If the individuals of the group are considered separately, use a plural verb. Such nouns are: couple, family, team, crowd, group, etc.

Examples:

• The team is going by bus.
• The team have found places to live.

A few nouns that are plural require the singular form of the verb: news, mathematics, physics, economics.

Examples:

• Today’s news is not very good.
• Mathematics is very difficult.
• Physics is a science.

If singular subjects are joined by or, nor, either.. or neither … nor, a singular verb must be used.

Examples:

• Either John or Paul is going to town.
• Neither the student nor the teacher was present.

Note: An exception occurs if one of the subjects is plural, then, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.

The phrase there is is used with a singular noun and the phrase there are is used with the plural noun. There is called a “dummy subject”

Study the following examples:

• There is a group of men in the class.
• There are several men in the auto.
• There are ten students in my class.
• There is a nice restaurant up the street.

Count nouns and mass nouns

(1) Count nouns require singular or plural forms of the verb.

(2) Mass nouns require the singular form of the verb.

Example: coffee

• The coffee …
• Some coffee …

• The coffee is hot.
• Some coffee is hot.
• Some of the coffee is hot

Other mass nouns are:

Money
Tea
Sugar
Milk
Fruit