Here's why:
* Independent Clause: A group of words that contains a subject and a verb and can stand alone as a complete sentence.
* Complete Thought: A statement that conveys a full idea, meaning the reader understands what happened, who did it, and where/when it took place.
Example:
* The cat sat on the mat. (This is both an independent clause and a simple sentence because it expresses a complete thought.)
Important Note: While simple sentences are made up of a single independent clause, they can be quite long and complex due to modifiers and other sentence elements.