a simple, active, declarative sentence containing no modifiers or connectives that may be used in making more elaborate sentences: The sentence "Good tests are short" is made from two kernel sentences: (1) "Tests are short." (2) "(The) tests are good."
KERNEL SENTENCE
Meaning of KERNEL SENTENCE in English
Random House Webster's Unabridged English dictionary. Полный английский словарь Вебстер - Random House . 2012