"零句"是赵元任先生引入汉语的术语，是以汉语为本体自觉思考的一个尝试，并开创了摆脱印欧语眼光的研究道路。但是，"零句"论述存在多处疑点，如下列观点：（1）单句是由两个零句分别作为主语谓语的整句；（2）单句的主语—谓语是一问一答；（3）过分扩大的主语范围；（4）单句是最小的复杂句，复句的从句也是主语。为解决"零句"带来的问题，可以扩大对短语的理解，以替代"零句"，并建立典型性原则。单句的典型性是："主语/话题是指称，谓语/说明是陈述"。这也是汉语单句和复句区分的合理依据。

As an attempt to theoretically reflection on Chinese language itself, a “minor sentence” is a term introduced to Chinese by Mr. ZHAO Yuan-ren. This has opened up a research path independent of the Indo-European perspective. However, many details in the theory of a “minor sentence” are doubtful: (1) a single sentence is a full sentence with two minor sentences as the subject and the predicate; (2) the subject and the predicate of a single sentence are comprised of one question and one answer; (3) the subject scope is excessively enlarged; (4) a single sentence is the smallest complex sentence, and a clause of a complex sentence is also a subject. In order to solve these problems centering on a “minor sentence”, we can replace a “minor sentence” with a phrase with a broader meaning and establish the principle of typicality. The typicality of a single sentence is that “the subject/topic is a reference, while the predicate/description is a statement”. This is also a reasonable basis for the distinction between a single sentence and a complex sentence in Chinese.