A Sentence

WHAT IS A SENTENCE, ANYWAY?


This entry teaches you about the basic unit of communication in the English Language: the sentence.


Grammar concepts to know:

• subject - the part of a sentence that names the person, thing, or idea.
• predicate - the part of sentence that contains ''the verb that tells''
• clause - a group of words with a subject and a predicate
• independent clause - a clause that can stand alone and express a complete thought.
• dependent clause - a clause that needs an independent clause to complete its meaning
• complex sentence - a sentence containing an independent clause and a dependent clause
• compound sentence - a sentence containing two or more independent clauses

A sentence is a basic unit of thought in the English Language. This entry will help you learn to write a complete and coherence sentence.

THE PARTS OF SENTENCE  

A sentence has both a subject and a predicate and expresses a complete thought. For example, read the following:

The snow is falling.

This is a sentence because it names a thing (snow) and tells something about it (that it is falling). It is also expresses complete thought.

The Subject

The part of sentence that names the  person, thing, or idea is called the subject. The subject can be one word or several word. The complete subject consists of person, thing, or idea and all of its modifiers, such as adjectives and adverbs. The complete subjects are highlighted in each of the following sentences:

A loud argument broke out at the game.

The young, worried pilot read the storm warning.

The newspaper article mentioned our newest menu item.

Every complete subject contains a simple subject. The simple subject, which is noun or pronoun, is the most important word in the complete subject. It is the word that names a person, thing, or idea the sentence is about. Look at the complete subjects highlighted in the previous sentences. Which word is the most important in each complete subject? The simple subjects are highlighted below:

A loud argument

The young, worried pilot

The newspaper article

The Predicate

The part of the sentence that contains the verb that explains something about the subject is called the predicate. The predicate can be one word or several words. The complete predicate consists of the verb and all of its modifiers. The complete predicates are highlighted in each of the following sentences:

A loud argument broke out at the game.

The young, worried pilot read the storm warning.

The newspaper article mentioned our newest menu item.

Mrs. Dawson is our most difficult customer.

My neighbor rarely complains about snow. 

Every complete predicate also contains a simple predicate, or verb. The simple predicate is the word that shows action or helps to make a statement about the subject. Look at the complete predicates highlighted in the sentences above. Which word shows action or helps to make the statement about the subject? The simple predicates are highlighted below:

broke out at the game

read the storm warning

mentioned our newest menu item

is our most difficult customer

rarely complains about snow

COMPOUND SUBJECTS AND PREDICATES

A sentence can have more than one subject joined by and, or, or nor that shares the same verb. This is called a compound subject. The compound subjects are highlighted in the following examples:

Horace and Beth both asked for a promotion. 

Hannah and Teri are the shift supervisors in this department.

A sentence can also have a compound predicates: more than one simple predicate that shares the same subject. The predicates may be joined by and, or, or nor.

Dimitri wrote a letter and sent it to the personnel department.

Horace called his supervisors and asked for a meeting.

CLAUSES

Like sentences, clauses are groups of words that have a subject and a predicate. Clauses are either independent or dependent. 

Independent Clauses

Independent clauses are groups of words in a sentence that can stand alone, because they express a complete thought. The simple sentence consists of one independent clauses:

The snow is falling.

Sometimes, more than one independent clause is included in the same sentence, which is known as a compound sentence. When this happens, the clauses are separated by a comma and a conjunction, or joining word (and, but, or, for, nor, so, yet). The independent clauses are underlined in the following sentences:

I gave her good advice, and she took it.

My dentist pulled my wisdom teeth, but it didn't hurt as badly as I thought it would.

I don't like Brussels sprouts, and my sister doesn't either.

Dependent Clauses

Dependent clauses, also known as subordinate clauses, are groups of words in a sentence that have a subject and predicate but can't stand alone because they don't express a complete thought. They are dependent on independent clauses. 

When I saw the snow was falling

An independent clauses can complete the thought:

When I saw the snow was falling, I went to get my snow shovel.

Sometimes, sentences are made up of one independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses. These are known as complex sentences. In the following sentence, the independent clause is in bold and the dependent clause is underlined. 

I put on my heavy coat when I saw the snow was falling.

Okay, that's all. Hope that this entry is very useful for you learn to write a complete and coherence sentence. Any comments? Feel free to drop it here.