Sentence - What is a Sentence? Definition, Meaning, Types, and Practical Examples

A sentence is a group of words that makes a complete thought. It tells us something, asks a question, or gives a command. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation mark.

Types of Sentences by Purpose

• Assertive/Declarative Sentences: An assertive/Declarative sentence is a sentence that makes a simple statement or shares information. It tells us something in a straightforward way and usually ends with a period. Assertive/Declarative sentences can be positive or negative. For example, ‘The sky is blue.’, ‘She does not like coffee.’
• Interrogative Sentence: An interrogative sentence is a sentence that asks a question. It usually starts with words like what, who, where, why, how, or do, and ends with a question mark (?). For example ‘What is your name?’, ‘Where are you going?’, ‘Do you like ice cream?’
• Imperative Sentence: An imperative sentence gives a command, makes a request, or offers advice. It usually tells someone to do something and often starts with a verb. Imperative sentences can end with a period (.) or an exclamation mark (!), depending on how strong the command is. For example ‘Sit down.’, ‘Please pass the salt.’, ‘Don't touch that!’
• Exclamatory Sentence: An exclamatory sentence is a type of sentence that shows strong emotion or excitement. It usually ends with an exclamation mark (!). For example ‘What a beautiful day!’, ‘I can't believe it!’, ‘Wow, that’s amazing!’

Types of Sentences by Structure

• Simple Sentences: A simple sentence is a sentence that has only one subject and one predicate, and it expresses a complete thought. It does not contain any other clauses. For example ‘She runs fast.’, ‘The dog barks.’
• Compound Sentences: Compound sentence is a sentence that has two or more simple sentences joined together by a conjunction (like "and," "but," "or," "so," etc.). Each part of the compound sentence can stand alone as a separate sentence. For example ‘She likes coffee, and he prefers tea.’,
• Complex Sentences: A complex sentence is a sentence that has one main idea (independent clause) and at least one supporting idea (dependent clause). The dependent clause can't stand alone and depends on the main clause to make sense. For example ‘If you study hard, you will pass the exam.’,
• Compound-Complex Sentences: A compound-complex sentence is a type of sentence that combines the features of both a compound sentence and a complex sentence. It contains at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause. For example ‘I stayed home because it was raining, but my friends went to the beach.’,

Sentence Components

In English, a sentence is made up of various components that work together to express a complete thought. The main components of a sentence include:

• Subject: The person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. For Example
  She is reading a book. (She = Subject)
  The cat is sleeping. (The cat = Subject)
• Predicate: The part of the sentence that contains the verb and provides information about the subject. For Example, 'She is reading a book.', 'The cat is sleeping.'
• Object: The person, place, thing, or idea that receives the action of the verb. For Example,
  Direct Object: Answers "what?" or "whom?" (He ate an apple.)
  Indirect Object: Answers "to whom?" or "for whom?" (She gave him a gift.)
• Verb: The action word or state-of-being word in the sentence. For Example, 'He runs every morning.', 'They are happy.'
• Complement: Adds more information to the subject or object to complete the meaning. For Example,
  Subject Complement: Follows linking verbs and describes the subject. (The sky is blue.)
  Object Complement: Follows and describes the object. (They made her happy.)
• Modifier: Words or phrases that provide additional information about the subject, verb, or object. For Example, 'She runs quickly.', 'The tall man entered the room.'
• Clause: A group of words with a subject and predicate. For Example,
  Independent Clause: Can stand alone as a complete sentence. (I went to the park.)
  Dependent Clause: Cannot stand alone and requires an independent clause. (Because I was tired.)
• Phrase: A group of words that work together but do not contain both a subject and a predicate. For Example, Noun Phrase (The big, brown dog), Verb Phrase (is running fast) and Prepositional Phrase (on the table)

Clauses and Phrases

Clauses and phrases are essential building blocks of sentences in English grammar, but they serve different roles:

Phrase: A phrase is a group of words that work together as a unit but do not contain both a subject and a predicate (verb). A phrase cannot stand alone as a complete sentence. For Example: 'under the table', 'running fast', 'a beautiful garden'

Clause: A clause is a group of words that contain both a subject and a predicate (verb). It can sometimes stand alone as a sentence, depending on the type of clause. For Example: 'She is singing', 'When the rain stops', 'Because he was late'

Word Order in Sentences

Word order refers to the arrangement of words in a sentence to convey the correct meaning. In English, the typical word order is Subject + Verb + Object.

Basic Sentence Structure:
Subject: Who or what the sentence is about.
Verb: The action or state of being.
Object: Who or what the action is directed towards (if needed).
Example: She (subject) reads (verb) books (object).

Questions (Inversion): When forming questions, the word order often changes. The auxiliary verb (like do, does, is, are) is placed before the subject. For Examples:
Yes/No Questions: Do you like coffee?
Wh- Questions: Where are you going?

Negative Sentences: In negative sentences, the word "not" is added after the auxiliary verb or after the verb "to be." For Examples: 'She does not (doesn't) like pizza.', 'He is not happy.'

Imperative Sentences (Commands): In commands or requests, the subject is often implied and not explicitly stated. The verb comes at the beginning. For example: 'Close the door.', 'Please help me.'

Adverbs in Sentences: Adverbs can appear in different positions in a sentence, but generally follow this order: Time, Frequency, Manner, Place (TFMP).

Examples:
She always (frequency) speaks politely (manner) at home (place).
I will visit you tomorrow (time).

Questions with Modal Verbs: When modal verbs are used, they are followed by the subject, and then the main verb. For example: 'Can you help me?', 'Should I call her?'

Word Order in Complex Sentences: In complex sentences with multiple clauses, the word order remains similar, but the dependent clause often comes after the main clause, or is introduced by subordinating conjunctions like because, although, or if. For example:
- She studied hard because she wanted to pass the exam.
- If you need help, let me know.

Emphasis in Word Order: Sometimes, changing the word order can place emphasis on certain parts of a sentence. For example:
- The book I bought yesterday is amazing. (Emphasizing the book).
- Yesterday, I bought an amazing book. (Emphasizing the time).

Sentence Transformation

Sentence Transformation refers to the process of changing the structure of a sentence without altering its meaning. It involves rephrasing, restructuring, or rewriting a sentence while keeping the core idea intact. For example, transforming sentences can involve:

Changing voice:
Active: She wrote a book.
Passive: A book was written by her.

Using synonyms:
Original: He is very tired.
Transformed: He is extremely exhausted.

Converting direct speech to indirect speech:
Direct: She said, 'I am happy.'
Indirect: She said that she was happy.

Combining or splitting sentences:
Combined: She was tired, so she went to bed.
Split: She was tired. She went to bed.

Sentence Patterns

Sentence patterns refer to the basic structures or arrangements of words in a sentence, which follow specific grammatical rules to convey meaning. These patterns are formed based on the relationship between the subject, verb, and other elements like objects, complements, or modifiers.

Common Sentence Patterns in English:

• Subject + Verb (S+V)
  Example: She runs.
• Subject + Verb + Object (S+V+O)
  Example: He eats an apple.
• Subject + Verb + Complement (S+V+C)
  Example: The sky looks blue.
• Subject + Verb + Indirect Object + Direct Object (S+V+IO+DO)
  Example: She gave him a gift.
• Subject + Verb + Object + Complement (S+V+O+C)
  Example: They made her happy.
• Subject + Verb + Adverbial (S+V+A)
  Example: He sleeps peacefully.