Given below are two statements : one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other is labelled as Reason (R) :

Assertion (A) : The following sentence is an example of a simple sentence :
"Without saying a word, Ashraf ran away from home, in great haste."

Reason (R): A simple sentence is a sentence which contains a main clause and one or more subordinate clauses, dependent on the main clause.

In the light of the above statements, choose the correct answer from the the options given below :

A simple sentence, by definition, is a sentence that contains one independent clause, meaning it has a single subject and a single predicate and expresses a complete thought. Hence, the reason (R) given that defines what a simple sentence is is incorrect. 

The assertion(A) given is, however, true; The sentence: "Without saying a word, Ashraf ran away from home, in great haste," is an example of a simple sentence. The phrase “Without saying a word” is a prepositional phrase functioning as an adverbial phrase, not a clause, as it has no finite verb.

[ A clause must have a subject and a finite verb. Here , "without saying a word" is a phrase because (i) there is no subject , and (ii) "saying" is a present participle, which does not show tense, making it non-finite. It functions as a prepositional phrase, where the preposition “without” governs a non-finite (gerund) phrase “saying a word.” ]

Hence,(A) is true, but (R) is false. The correct choice is Option C.