Simple Sentences
[A1] English: Simple Sentences teaches you how to form clear, basic statements in English. This module covers simple sentence structure, subject–verb agreement, and common verbs for confident everyday communication.
Simple sentence
A simple sentence expresses one complete idea with one main clause. It always has a subject and a verb, and it can stand alone as a complete thought. It can be short or long, but it does not contain another sentence inside it.
一个简单句表达一个完整的想法，包含一个主句。它总有一个主语和一个动词，且可以独立成为一个完整的陈述。它可以很短也可以很长，但其中不包含其他句子。
Subject
The subject is who or what the sentence is about. It is usually a noun or pronoun, and it often comes before the main verb in English. A subject can be one word or a full noun phrase with determiners and adjectives.
主语是句子所讨论的对象。它通常是名词或代词，英语中常出现在谓语动词之前。主语可以是一个词，也可以是带有限定词和形容词的完整名词短语。
Main verb
The main verb shows an action, event, or state, and it is the core of the sentence. Every simple sentence has exactly one main clause, so it has one main verb phrase. The verb may be a single word or include helping verbs.
谓语动词表示一个动作、事件或状态，是句子的核心。每个简单句恰好只有一个主句，因此只有一个谓语动词短语。动词可以是单一词，也可以包含助动词。
Basic word order
The most common simple-sentence order in English is Subject–Verb–Object or Subject–Verb–Complement. English relies heavily on word order to show roles, so changing the order can change the meaning. Questions and some emphasis patterns can change the order, but the idea is still one main clause.
英语中最常见的简单句顺序是 主语–动词–宾语（Subject–Verb–Object） 或 主语–动词–补语（Subject–Verb–Complement）。英语在很大程度上依赖词序来表达角色，因此改变顺序可能改变含义。疑问句和某些强调模式可以改变顺序，但核心仍然是一个主句。
Rule | 🇨🇳 中文 规则 | Example | 🇨🇳 中文 示例 |
|---|---|---|---|
 Use Subject–Verb as the core | 📌 将 主语–动词 作为核心 |  She smiles. | 🧾 她微笑。 |
| Add an object after the verb for transitive verbs | 📌 在动词后加对象以表示及物动词 | He reads a book. | 🧾 他在读一本书。 |
| Put time and place phrases after the core clause | 📌 将时间和地点短语放在核心子句之后 | They met yesterday at the station. | 🧾 他们昨天在车站见面。 |
Objects
An object receives the action of the verb. Direct objects answer what or whom after the verb, and they usually come right after the verb. Some verbs can also take an indirect object, which often refers to the receiver.
宾语承受动词的动作。直接宾语回答动词后面的 what（什么）或 whom（谁），通常紧跟在动词之后。有些动词也可以带间接宾语，通常指动作的接收者。
Complements
A complement completes the meaning of certain verbs, especially be, become, seem, and feel. Subject complements describe or identify the subject, often as a noun phrase or adjective. Complements are not objects because they do not receive an action.
补语使某些动词的含义更加完整，尤其是 be、become、seem 和 feel。主语补语描述或识别主语，通常以名词短语或形容词的形式出现。补语不是宾语，因为它们不承受动作。
Modifiers
Modifiers add extra information but are not required for the sentence to be complete. Adjectives modify nouns, and adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Prepositional phrases and other phrase types can also act as modifiers in a simple sentence.
修饰语增加额外信息，但并非句子完整所必需。形容词修饰名词，副词修饰动词、形容词或其他副词。介词短语和其他短语类型也可以在简单句中充当修饰语。
Helping verbs
Helping verbs combine with a main verb to express tense, aspect, voice, or mood. Even when there is a helping verb, the sentence can still be simple because it is still one main clause. Common helping verbs include be, have, and do, as well as modal verbs like can and should.
助动词与主要动词结合以表示时态、体、语态或语气。即使有助动词，句子仍然可以是简单的，因为它仍然只有一个主句。常见的助动词包括 be、have、do，以及情态动词如 can 和 should.
Rule | 🇨🇳 中文 规则 | Example | 🇨🇳 中文 示例 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use be + -ing for actions in progress | 📌 对进行中的动作使用 be + -ing | She is studying. | 🧾 她正在学习。 |
| Use have + past participle for completed experience or result | 📌 使用 have + 过去分词表示已完成的经历或结果 | They have finished. | 🧾 他们完成了。 |
| Use modal + base verb for ability, permission, advice, or possibility | 📌 使用情态动词 + 基本动词表示能力、许可、建议或可能性 | You can leave now. | 🧾 你现在可以离开。 |
Statements
Most simple sentences are statements that give information. Statements typically use falling intonation in speech and end with a period in writing. In statements, the subject usually comes before the verb.
大多数简单句是提供信息的陈述句。陈述句在口语中通常使用降调，在书写中以句号结束。在陈述句中，主语通常在动词之前。
Negatives
To make a simple sentence negative, English often uses not with an auxiliary verb. If there is no auxiliary in the statement, English typically uses do-support with do or does in the present and did in the past. Negative sentences remain simple as long as they contain only one main clause.
要将一个简单句变成否定句，英语通常会在助动词后面加 not。如果句子中没有助动词，英语通常会使用 do-support，在现在时使用 do 或 does，在过去时使用 did。否定句只要仍然只包含一个主句，就会保持为简单句。
Rule | 🇨🇳 中文 规则 | Example | 🇨🇳 中文 示例 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Add not after be | 📌 在 be 之后添加 not | He is not ready. | 🧾 他没有准备好。 |
| Add not after a modal | 📌 在情态动词后添加 not | She cannot swim. | 🧾 她不能游泳。 |
| Use do not or does not with a base verb in the present | 📌 在现在时对基本动词使用 do not 或 does not | They do not agree. | 🧾 他们不同意。 |
| Use did not with a base verb in the past | 📌 在过去时对基本动词使用 did not | I did not call. | 🧾 我没有打电话。 |
Questions
Simple-sentence questions ask for information while still using one main clause. Yes–no questions usually use auxiliary inversion, placing the auxiliary before the subject. Wh- questions add a question word, and the rest of the sentence follows normal question structure.
简单句疑问句在仍使用一个主句的同时询问信息。是/否问句通常使用辅助动词的倒装，将助动词放在主语前。Wh- 问句增加一个疑问词，其余部分遵循正常的疑问句结构。
Rule | 🇨🇳 中文 规则 | Example | 🇨🇳 中文 示例 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Invert be with the subject | 📌 将 be 与主语倒装 | Are you tired? | 🧾 Are you tired? |
| Invert a modal with the subject | 📌 将情态动词与主语倒装 | Can they come? | 🧾 Can they come? |
| Use do-support when there is no auxiliary | 📌 当没有助动词时使用 do-support | Does he work here? | 🧾 Does he work here? |
| Put the wh- word first | 📌 将 wh- 词放在句首 | Where do you live? | 🧾 Where do you live? |
