simple (adj.)

A term sometimes used in GRAMMATICAL classification, especially of VERB FORMS, referring to the UNMARKED member of an OPPOSITION, e.g. ‘simple present’ = the non-PROGRESSIVE ASPECT of the present-TENSE form (as in I go); ‘simple tense’ = a VERB without any AUXILIARIES (as in I take/took); ‘simple past’ = the past-tense form of the verb without auxiliary modification (as in I took). The term tends to be avoided in contemporary LINGUISTICS, because of its undesirable psychological associations, but the oppositions between simple and complex/compound SENTENCES (viz. whether containing one CLAUSE or more than one), and simple and compound/complex PREDICATES (viz. a predicate consisting wholly of a verb) are often used.