- HubPages»
- Books, Literature, and Writing»
- Commercial & Creative Writing»
- Word Usage & Grammar
What is a sentence?
Meaning of Sentence
A sentence is composed of words and expresses a complete thought. This contains a subject and a predicate.
The subject is being talked about in a sentence. This is a person, thing, place, or idea. On the other hand, predicate tells something or describe the subject. For easy reference, the table below shows the subject and the predicate of each sentence.
Subject-Predicate Table
Subject
| Predicate
|
---|---|
Brianna
| passed the screening for
|
the Voice Italy.
| |
Computer
| allows people to encode
|
documents.
| |
New Zealand
| is one of the most beautiful
|
countries in the world.
| |
Abortion
| is criticized by Catholics.
|
A sentence is always composed of a subject and a predicate. When it lacks either the subject or the predicate it is classified as sentence fragment. A sentence fragment expresses an incomplete thought. Read the examples in the table.
Sentence Fragment
Example
| Subject
| Predicate
|
---|---|---|
Eaten your lunch
| X
| √
|
Makes appointment this
| X
| √
|
afternoon
| ||
The tower
| √
| X
|
The following questions are drawn from the examples above.
● Who had eaten your lunch? Or, Are you asking me if I had my lunch already?
● Who makes the appointment this afternoon?
● What about the tower?
In order to deliver the correct and complete message, a sentence must be made of a subject and a predicate. Expressing a complete thought prevents confusion and misunderstanding between the sender and the receiver of the sentence or a message.
Kinds of Sentences
There are four kinds of sentences. These are declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences.
A declarative sentence makes a statement. It ends with a period (.).
● The world population grows twice every year.
● Mark and Steven are twins.
An interrogative sentence asks a question. It ends with a question mark(?).
● What is your name?
● How did you learn about the system of our company?
An imperative sentence asks, requests or commands someone to do something. It ends with a period (.)or exclamatory point (!). Some people use “please” or “kindly” when requesting. Moreover, the subject is not included when stating an imperative sentence. The subject is usually “you” or the person being spoken with.
● Kindly extend my regards to Rob.
● Collect the garbage now!
An exclamatory sentence expresses a strong feeling or abrupt emotion. This ends with an exclamatory point (!).
● It was great!
● I love you!
Let's Take this Video Quiz
Related Hubs
- New in English Grammar: a Sentence without a Predica...
'Lightning precedes thunder' is a sentence without a predicate. Lighting and thunder' are subjects;'precedes' is a copula not a verb. This kind of sentence should be taught in English grammar. - How To Write a Proper Sentence
A guide to understanding proper sentence structure with examples and definitions. - How to Punctuate Any Sentence with Grace and Ease
Good punctuation is important. Here's how to punctuate any sentence with grace and ease! - Sentence Starters for Reader Response Essays and Jou...
Easy Sentence Starters for Reader Response Logs, Journals or Essays. Help in writing your Reader Response Essay too. - How to Diagram a Sentence: A Beginner's Guide
When someone diagrams a sentence, he or she places words onto a diagram in a set pattern in order to understand the sentence and the words within the sentence better. Diagramming sentences not only helps the writer of the sentence form the words in..