What is a sentence?: Difference between revisions

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A sentence is the basic unit of writing and expression. It contains at least a subject and a predicate and is grammatically complete and independent.

The Rules

To make a sentence:

There must be a subject.
- The exception to this rule is a class of sentences called imperatives, in which the subject is usually implied (Faigley 369).
- English is unlike several other languages in requiring a subject for sentences. In Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese, for example, speakers can say the equivalent of is raining without inserting a subject. But speakers of English must insert a dummy subject in such cases (it is raining) even though it refers to nothing (Faigley 370).
The subject is a person, place, or thing “that either performs an action or is described” (Glenn 292).
There must be a predicate.
The predicate expresses the action initiated by the subject or makes a comment about the subject (Glenn 292).
Always start with a capital letter and end with one of these punctuations: period, exclamation point, or question mark.

Usage

The four functions of sentences are demonstrated by the following:

An imperative sentence gives instructions.

Go make me a bowl of cereal.

A declarative sentence reports information or states facts.

We are out of cereal.

An interrogative sentence is a question and it elicits information or introduces topics.

Would you go to the store and get some cereal?

An exclamatory sentence portrays emotions.

The car is on fire!

The four types of sentences are determined by the nature and number of clauses they contain.

A simple sentence is one independent clause with no subordinate clauses (Hacker 464).

The hamster rolls around in its toy ball.

A compound sentence consists of two or more main clauses and no subordinate clause (Aaron 167). The independent clauses are usually joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) or with a semicolon (Hacker 464).

Yuki is a white dog, but Dixie is a black dog.

A complex sentence is composed of one independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses (Hacker 464).

When you stay up late, it is hard to stay awake all day.

A compound-complex sentence has the characteristics of both the compound sentence (two or more main clauses) and the complex sentence (at least one subordinate clause) (Aaron 168).

While the crickets chirped, one owl sat on a branch, and the other owl hunted.

Links

Works Cited

Glenn, Cheryl et al. The Writer’s Harbrace Handbook. 2nd ed. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.
Faigsley, Lester. The Brief Penguin Handbook. Pearson Education, Inc., 2003.
Aaron, Jane E. The Little Brown Compact Handbook. 5th ed. Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.
Hacker, Diana. A Writer’s Reference. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.

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-"A sentence is a unit of language charecterized in most languages by the presence of a finite verb" (wikipedia). Sentences  are classified two ways: according to their structure (simple, compuond, complex, and compound-complex) and according to their purpose (declaritive, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory) (Hacker 463).
+A sentence is the basic unit of writing and expression. It contains at least a subject and a predicate and is grammatically complete and independent.
-===Structure===
+==The Rules==
+To make a sentence:
-*Simple sentence: A Simple sentence is one independent clause with no subordinate clauses ( Hacker 464).
+*There must be a subject.
+**The exception to this rule is a class of sentences called imperatives, in which the subject is usually implied (Faigley 369).
-*Compound sentence: A compuond sentence is composed of two or more independent clauses with no subordinate clauses. The independent clauses are usually joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (''and'', ''but '', ''or'', ''not'', ''for'', ''so'', ''yet'') or with a semicolon (Hacker 464).
+**English is unlike several other languages in requiring a subject for sentences. In Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese, for example, speakers can say the equivalent of is raining without inserting a subject. But speakers of English must insert a dummy subject in such cases (it is raining) even though it refers to nothing (Faigley 370).
+*The subject is a person, place, or thing “that either performs an action or is described” (Glenn 292).
-*Complex sentence: A complex sentence is composed of one independent clause with one or more subordinate clauses (Hacker 464).
+*There must be a predicate.
+*The predicate expresses the action initiated by the subject or makes a comment about the subject (Glenn 292).
-*Compound-complex sentence:A compound-complex sentence contains at least two independent clauses and at least one subordinate clause (Hacker 464).
+*Always start with a capital letter and end with one of these punctuations: period, exclamation point, or question mark.
-===Purpose===
-*Declaritive sentences make statments (Hacker 465).
-*Imperative sentences issue requests or commands (hacker 465).
-*Interrogative sentences ask questions (Hacker 465).
-*Exclamatory sentences make exclamations (Hacker 465).
-==How to make a sentence==
-*A sentence should have a subject and a verb.
-*The first word should always be a capital letter.
-*Sentence must end with a period, question mark or an exclamation point.
-*Sentence must be a complete thought.
 ==Usage==
-===Subject and verb===
+The four functions of sentences are demonstrated by the following:
-The subject is what or whom the sentence is about. The verb tells what the subject of the sentence does. It tells the action.
-:To determine the subject of a sentence, first isolate the verb and then make a question by placing who? or what? before it. The answer is the subject(Peck).
-===Capital letter===
+An imperative sentence gives instructions.
-A capital letter is placed at the begining of a sentence to show authority and to mark the begining.
+: Go make me a bowl of cereal.
-:We are starting class at one.
+A declarative sentence reports information or states facts.
+: We are out of cereal.
+An interrogative sentence is a question and it elicits information or introduces topics.
+: Would you go to the store and get some cereal?
+An exclamatory sentence portrays emotions.
+: The car is on fire!
-===Punctuation===
-*Periods are used to mark the end of a sentence expressing a statment (Darling).
-:It is a nice day today.
-*Question marks are used at the end of a direct question or to show that something is uncertain (Darling).
+The four types of sentences are determined by the nature and number of clauses they contain.
-:What time does the store close?
-*Exclamation points are used after an exclamation of surprise, shock or dismay, which is generally a short sentence or phrase expressing very strong feeling (Darling).
+A simple sentence is one independent clause with no subordinate clauses (Hacker 464).
-:The pool part was great!
+: The hamster rolls around in its toy ball.
+A compound sentence consists of two or more main clauses and no subordinate clause (Aaron 167). The independent clauses are usually joined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) or with a semicolon (Hacker 464).
+: Yuki is a white dog, but Dixie is a black dog.
+A complex sentence is composed of one independent clause and one or more subordinate clauses (Hacker 464).
+: When you stay up late, it is hard to stay awake all day.
+A compound-complex sentence has the characteristics of both the compound sentence (two or more main clauses) and the complex sentence (at least one subordinate clause) (Aaron 168).
+: While the crickets chirped, one owl sat on a branch, and the other owl hunted.
-===Complete thought===
+==Links==
-A group of words must be capable of standing on its own to be considered a sentence.
+*[http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/sentence.html UsingEnglish.com]
-:She is going
+*[http://www.geocities.com/gene_moutoux/diagrams.htm Diagramming Sentences]
-:She is going to work at four.
+*[http://www.ucalgary.ca/UofC/eduweb/grammar/course/sentence.htm Sentence Elements]
 ==Works Cited==
-*Darling, Roger How to use punctuation. 22 Mar 2006. Online. 12 Jul 2006.
+*Glenn, Cheryl et al. ''The Writer’s Harbrace Handbook.'' 2nd ed. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2005.
-<http://115170032534.webcitehome.co.uk/punctuation.html>.
+*Faigsley, Lester. ''The Brief Penguin Handbook.'' Pearson Education, Inc., 2003.
+*Aaron, Jane E. ''The Little Brown Compact Handbook.'' 5th ed. Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.
-*Peck, Frances Subject and Predicate. 1994. Online. 12 Jul 2006.
+*Hacker, Diana. ''A Writer’s Reference.'' 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2003.
-<http://www.arts.uottawa.ca/writcent/hypergrammer/subjpred.html#subject>.
-*Hacker, Diana. ''A Writer's Reference.'' 5th Ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2003.
-*, Wikipedia Sentence Linguistics. 27 Jun 2006. Online. 12 Jul 2006.
-<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=sentence_%28linguistics%29&oldid=60811791>.
-'''What is a sentence'''
-The basic unit in writing is the sentence. Sentences should include a main verb,a subject,and a predicate which says something about the verb.
-Many people think that a sentence simply begins with a capital
-letter and ends in a question mark or period.  This is not a fact.  There are at least four major patterns that function in a sentence; declaratives,interrogatives,imperatives and exclamations.  Declaratives being sentences that make statements.  Interrogatives are questions.  Imperatives usually demand some form of action. Exclamations express strong emotion. Typically the subject in a sentence announces what the sentence is about. The predicate conveys an action of the subject.  A imperative usually implies what the subject is.  A imperative is an exception to the rule. Sentences are clasified according to function.
-A sentence can be either positive or negative in function.  A single independent clause constitutes a sentence.  Noting the number and kinds of clauses can identify a sentence.  Understanding types of clauses helps you identify sentences.  A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause such as "I am not very good at writing essays."  Two independent clauses with no dependent clause represents a compound sentence.  "The girl ran very fast.  Her classmates were gaining on her as she ran. Oh boy."  May be an example of a compound sentence.  Complex sentences have one independent clause and at least one dependent clause. " She ran very fast down the lane.  Give it to her."  Is an complex sentence.  Two independent clauses and one dependent clause along with one dependent clause represent a compound-complex sentence such as:  The rain fell heavily most of today.  The weatherman predicted partly cloudy mostly sunny today.  He was wrong.  It takes practice to learn good writing habits.