Which of these is a simple sentence?
A The auditorium is being remodeled, so the concert was rescheduled for July.
B The concert will feature musicians from all over the world; the conductor is from Germany.
C Local students and musicians will be invited to the performance.
D I want to attend the concert; however, I will be in Florida that day.
The correct answer and explanation is:
The correct answer is C: “Local students and musicians will be invited to the performance.”
A simple sentence contains only one independent clause, which means it has a subject and a predicate (verb) and expresses a complete thought. Let’s break down the options:
- Option A: “The auditorium is being remodeled, so the concert was rescheduled for July.”
This is a compound sentence because it has two independent clauses joined by the conjunction “so.” The first part (“The auditorium is being remodeled”) and the second part (“the concert was rescheduled for July”) are both complete thoughts, so it’s not a simple sentence. - Option B: “The concert will feature musicians from all over the world; the conductor is from Germany.”
This is also a compound sentence because it contains two independent clauses joined by a semicolon. Each clause could stand alone as a complete sentence, making it compound, not simple. - Option C: “Local students and musicians will be invited to the performance.”
This is a simple sentence because it contains just one independent clause. The subject is “Local students and musicians,” and the predicate is “will be invited to the performance.” There’s no additional clause or conjunctions linking separate ideas, making it simple. - Option D: “I want to attend the concert; however, I will be in Florida that day.”
This is a compound sentence because it contains two independent clauses, linked by a semicolon and the transitional word “however.” Each part could stand alone as a complete sentence.
In summary, a simple sentence has just one independent clause, as seen in Option C, while compound sentences contain multiple independent clauses.