Which sentence is not a simple sentence?
a. she enjoys golf but prefers swimming.
b. the cat in our backyard screeched horribly all night.
c. the entire property is surrounded by a chain-link fence.
d. both my friend and i left our bicycles at the recreation center.

A simple sentence contains the basic element that make a sentence and that is a subject and a predicate. The sentence must one independent clause and expresses one idea. In the choices enumerated above  a. She enjoys golf but prefers swimming is not a simple sentence because it does not represent one ide but two. If you break down the sentence, it could be: ‘She enjoys golf’ and ‘She prefers swimming’. The rest of the choices contain one idea only.

His writing and speech is quite different than today’s. students struggle understanding because of unfamiliar words.