A sentence is a set of words that makes up a complete thought. It achieves this by following a set of grammatical rules to convey a statement, question, exclamation, or command.
A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a complete stop, question mark, or exclamation mark.
Usually, a sentence contains a subject and always has a verb. It can also include a predicate – what is said about the subject.
| Subject | Verb | Predicate | Predicate |
| This | is | a | sentence. |
When considering a sentence, it’s essential to think about whether it makes sense on its own. It should be a complete thought.
It’s pretty hard to define a sentence, as many people disagree on what it means. However, they help us to make sense of our words and to improve our writing. Constructing a variety of sentences is an essential first step to improving writing.
There are four types of sentences:
- A declarative sentence
This sentence tells a fact and ends with a complete stop.
‘Cheetahs have spots.’
- An imperative sentence
It is a type of instruction that ends with a full stop or exclamation mark.
‘Clean your room.’
The subject in an imperative sentence is often implied, so they’re not written out. So, for example, the issue in the above sentence would most likely be ‘you.’
- An interrogative sentence
It asks a question and ends with a question mark.
‘What’s your favorite animal?’
- An exclamation sentence
This type of sentence expresses emotion or excitement and ends with an exclamation mark.
Examples of a Simple Sentence
A complete sentence has at least a subject and the main verb, which states a complete thought. It may also have a predicate that describes the issue.
‘Angela is the nicest girl in the class.’
‘Tony plays sports after school.’
‘Lincolnshire is the tastiest sausage.’
Sometimes, they can be even simpler than that. A sentence can be just a subject and a verb. For example:
‘Dogs bark.‘
In some instances, it can be just a single verb.
‘Go.’
Despite only being one word, that is a complete, simple sentence.
Examples of a Compound Sentence
A compound sentence joins two main clauses with a connective/conjunction. Compound sentences are joined by coordinating conjunctions/connectives – and, but, so, or.
‘Timmy is a good boy, but he often steals my ball.’
‘I like sausages, and I like potatoes.’
‘It’s sunny today, so I’m going to play outside with my friends.’
Some coordinating conjunctions need a comma before them. It is usually for longer sentences, which can be omitted in short ones.
