Sentence (linguistics)

THE PARTS OF A SENTENCE

Traditionally, each sentence is regarded as having a Subject , an Object and a Verb , even if one of these is implied. See Grammar for more details. The objects that modify the Noun Phrase collectively form the Predicate of a sentence. An incomplete sentence is called a sentence fragment.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES

Classification by structure

One traditional scheme for classifying English sentences is by the number and types of Finite Clause s:

A '' Simple Sentence '' consists of a single Independent Clause with no Dependent Clause s.

A '' Compound Sentence '' consists of multiple independent clauses with no dependent clauses. These clauses are joined together using Conjunctions , Punctuation , both.

A '' Complex Sentence '' consists of one independent clause with at least one dependent clause.

A '' Complex-compound Sentence '' (or ''compound-complex sentence'') consists of multiple independent clauses, at least one of which has at least one dependent clause.

Classification by purpose

Sentences can also be classified based on their purpose:

A ''declarative sentence'' or ''declaration'', the most common type, commonly makes a statement: ''I am going home.''

An ''interrogative sentence'' or '' Question '' is commonly used to request information — ''When are you going to work?'' — but sometimes not; ''see'' Rhetorical Question .

An ''exclamatory sentence'' or '' Exclamation '' is generally a more emphatic form of statement: ''What a wonderful day this is!''

An ''imperative sentence'' or '' Command '' is ordinarily used to make a demand or request: ''Go do your homework.''

Major and minor sentences

A major sentence is a ''regular'' sentence; it has a Subject and a Predicate .
For example: ''I have a ball.'' In this sentence one can change the persons: ''We have a ball.'' However, a minor sentence is an irregular type of a sentence. It does not follow all the grammatical rules; For example: ''How do you do?'' In this sentence one cannot change the person, for example. It is a kind of greeting and therefore saying ''How do they do?'' is not something one would normally express in a greeting. Other examples of minor sentences are headings (e.g. the heading of this entry), stereotyped expressions (''Hello!''), emotional expressions (''Wow!''), proverbs etc.

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Sentence (linguistics)