In the Simple View of Reading, how are vocabulary knowledge and sentence comprehension characterized?

• A. They are the same component
• B. They are distinct components essential for reading comprehension
• C. Decoding determines all reading outcomes
• D. Vocabulary alone guarantees comprehension

Answer: (B)

In the Simple View of Reading, vocabulary knowledge and sentence comprehension are separate parts of language comprehension that both contribute to overall reading understanding. The idea is that reading comprehension comes from two main pieces: decoding (turning print into spoken language) and language comprehension (which includes knowing word meanings and understanding how sentences express ideas). Within language comprehension, vocabulary knowledge and sentence comprehension are distinct skills—knowing many words isn’t the same as understanding how sentences link those words to convey meaning. Both are essential for understanding text, and you need both decoding and language comprehension to achieve strong reading comprehension. So vocabulary alone doesn’t guarantee understanding, and decoding alone isn’t enough without language comprehension.