The Sentence – a The Sentence – a complete thoughtcomplete thought

  

1 Allah Almighty is very merciful.

2 I love my country.

3 Please work hard.

4 Let us build our nation.

5 All these groups of words are sentences as they are complete thoughts.

6 What a sunny day it is!

7 Have you been to ?

Definition of Sentence:A sentence is made up of different words

combined into a pattern that expresses a complete thought. When written, it begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, a question mark, or an exclamation mark. In its simplest form this complete statement is also called an independent clause or a simple sentence. All the above examples are of sentences.

Sentence Fragment: A group of words which does convey some meaning but

does not express a complete thought is called a sentence fragment. Fragments are incomplete sentences. Usually, they are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause.

Examples:•in the morning •over the window•my younger brother•the rose•wet by rain•is a soldier•works day in and day out

You see that all these group of words are meaningful but not as meaningful as those groups of words which express a complete thought and are called sentences. So such groups of words are called Sentence of Fragments.

Sentence:A sentence is a group of words that makes a sense.

Fragment:A group of words that make sense but not complete

sense.

Subject and Predicate – Two Pillars of a Sentence

SubjectPerson or thing

(Noun) we talk about

PredicateWhat we say about some

person or thing

Ahmed (noun) painted that picture.Hassan (noun) has passed the test.They (pronoun) left. Ali (noun) is good at English.The day is very sunny.The red car is new.

Looking at the sentences above, we can say that every simple sentence must have two basic elements:

i. the person/thing we talk about, ii. (and) what we say about the person or thing. The person/thing we are talking about is called the

subject, and what we say about it is called the predicate.

The subject is a noun, a pronoun, or some other word or group of words used as a noun or noun phrase.

For Example: Ali is a good student. (the subject Ali is a noun here)

The essential part of the predicate is a verb - a word that tells something about the

subject. It tells that the subject does something or that something is true of the subject.

For Example: Ali is a good student.A subject (noun) and a predicate (verb) are,

therefore, the fundamental parts of every sentence. In fact, it is possible to express meaning with just these two elements: subject and verb.

The boys went. S P

Subject: The person or thing we are taking about.Predicate: The word or words that say something about the subject.

Main Verbs and Helping VerbsA verb may consist of a main verb and one or more helping

verbs, such as am, is, are, was, were, be, been, has, have, had, do, dose, or did. A main verb and its helping verbs make up a verb phrase.

HV HV MVTara had been watching the programme.

(Had and been are helping verbs. Watching is the main verb. Had been watching is a verb phrase.)

To find the verb in a sentence:•Look for a word that tells the main action, expresses a state

of being, or link the subject with a description. •Look for helping verb such as is, am, are, was, were, be,

been, have, has, had, do, does, did, shall, will, should, would, and could.

•Look for all the parts that make up the verb phase.

For Examples:i. Sentence: My friend Shahid went to

Dubai.Question: What is the verb?Answer: went

ii. Sentence: Who broke the glass?Question: What is the verb/action?Answer: broke

Finding the Verb

1 They always speak the truth.2 Are you a good student?3 Where is my pencil?4 I am seeing my friend tomorrow.5 They have been watching TV since .6 They will always remember their old

friends.7 He did not meet your friend in .8 It’s a beautiful sunny day.

Finding of verbs in a sentence is the first step in knowing whether or not a group of words expresses a complete thought. Look for the verb first the most important word or words in the sentence, and then for its subject.

The verb may sometimes be difficult to find. It may come anywhere in the sentence; for instance, it may come before the subject, as in some interrogative sentences (2, 3). It may consist of a single word (3) or a group of two or more words (4, 5); it may have other words inserted within it (6); it may be combined with the negative not or with a contraction of not (7, 8).

Sometimes the parts of a verb are separated by words that are not verbs (any adverb/etc).

i. The artist has already finished the painting.ii. I did not understand your question.iii. She hasn’t arrived yet.

Simple Subject and Simple Predicate

Subject Predicate

People Loved.

They Went.

The subject of sentence tells about whom or what the sentence is. The predicate tells what the subject does or is.

In every sentence there are key words that make the basic framework of the sentence. The key word in the subject of sentence is called the simple subject. It is the subject of the verb. It is a noun or noun equivalent. The key word in the predicate is called the simple predicate. The simple predicate is the verb - a word showing action or state of the subject. For example;

The people of my country love their country.The subject people tell who love and the predicate love tells

what the subject did. The sentence can stand alone on these two elements.

People love S P

Complete Subject and Complete Predicate

Complete Subject Complete Predicate

The train from reached the station at .

Colourful seashells littered the beach.

Almost all beekeepers wear protective masks.

Rain fell steadily all day long.

That animal found a secret cave.

Star twinkled brightly in the sky.

All the words in the subject make up the complete subject. Ali

went. Subject

PredicateHere subject and predicate have one word each, so they are

simple as well as complete subject and predicate.The students of my college are very intelligent. Subject PredicateThe simple subject together with its related words - of my

college- forms complete subject.The simple predicate ‘are’ together with its related words -

very intelligent- forms complete predicate. The complete subject may be either one word or more than one word. All the words in the predicate make up the complete predicate.

Compound Subject and Compound Predicate

1 Ali and came home late.

2 Ahmed, Hassan and Ali played a lot.

3 Naeem walked and jogged three miles on the track today.

4 Ali and Ahmed jumped and swam in the pool for an hour.

When we have two or more nouns pronouns, etc as the subject, we call it compound subject. The joining words are ‘and’ or, or, ‘nor’

i. Ahmed and Hassan play cricket. ii. Reading and writing are two great skills. Always remember that a prepositional phrase with its noun

never makes up the single subject a compound one. For example:i. The students of this College are good sportsmen.(The prepositional phrase of this College does not make the

subjects compound.Similarly, when we have two are more than two verbs as

predicate, we call it a compound predicate.For Example:i. Hassan read the book and wrote an essay. (In this sentence

the verb phrases ‘read the book’ and wrote an essay from a compound predicate.)

Subjects in the Unusual Order

1 Beyond these mountains lives a saint.2 A saint lives beyond these mountain.3 My friend has a luxury flat at the top floor of this

plaza.4 Across the road ran the little kitten.5 The little kitten ran across the road.6 The three friends walked on and on through the jungle.7 There lives a saint in this part of the jungle.

Sometimes finding the subject may also be difficult, for as we have just seen, the subject does not always come immediately before the verb. Often it comes after the verb; often it is separated from the verb by a modifying element. Always look for the noun or pronoun about which the verb says something and disregard intervening elements:

Predicate subjectThrough the jungle passes the train.

Types of Sentences

1 A sentence has four kinds.(Statement)

2 Do you know these kinds?(Interrogative)

3 Study them carefully.(Imperative)

4 How easy these kinds are!(Exclamatory)

5 Many you live long! (Optative)

There are five kinds of sentences: declarative, interrogative, imperative, exclamatory and optative.

1. A declarative sentence makes a statement. It tells something. A full stop is used after this kind of sentence.

i. My brother is a soldier.ii. Hassan has not come today.You can replace the full stop at the end of a declarative

sentence with an exclamation mark if you want to show that you are expressing strong feelings. Compare these sentences:

i. Hassan’s coming.ii. Hassan’s coming!

The first sentence is a simple statement. The second, however, not only conveys the same information but also expresses emotion such as surprise’ pleasure or fear. However, this second type concern oral aspect of communication.

Note: This declarative sentence is also called statement or assertive sentence.

2. An interrogative sentence asks a question. A question mark is used after this kind of sentence.

i. Do you know how to wash a carpet?ii. What are you doing nowadays?Sometimes a question mark is the only way you can tell

whether a sentence is a question or a statement:i. Junaid’s leaving this afternoon.ii. Junaid’s leaving this afternoon?The second sentence in an example of oral

communication.

3. An imperative sentence makes a command or requests someone to do something. This kind of sentence usually ends with a period. But if the command is short and sharp, an exclamation sign is put at the end.

i. Give me that book.ii. Please help yourself to find a dish.iii. Be off with you!4. An exclamatory sentence expresses strong feelings. An

exclamation mark is used at the end of this kind of sentence.i. The mangoes tasted great!ii. What a beautiful sight it is!Some exclamations have the form of questions:

i. Isn’t that a beautiful flower!ii. Will you stop that noise!

However, since such sentences are not asking questions but expressing opinions or making requests, they are punctuated with exclamation marks rather than question marks.

5. Optative SentenceSome grammarians recognize a fifth type of sentence the Optative

sentence. Optative sentences express wishes:i. May you live a long and happy life together!ii. God save the Queen!iii. Long live the President!iv. Peace be upon him.v. God forbid that that should ever happen.Optative sentences are not very common. Some occur as fixed

sayings:i. God save…!ii. Long live….!

Optative sentences formed with may are found mainly in very formal or rather dated language.

Notice that optative sentences like ‘God save the Queen!’ and ‘long live the President!’ use a special form of the verb in which there is no-s ending:

i. God save…. (NOT God saves…)ii. Long live … (NOT Long lives……)

Similarly, we have ‘Peace be upon’ him rather than ‘Peace is upon him’.

Interrogative & Exclamatory Sentences

1 Is he in these days?

2 Do you know how to spell this word?

3 What an artist he is!

4 How nicely he has played the short!

Some interrogative sentences (question) are written in the usual order, with the subject first and the verb second.

Subject Verb Object Who ordered this sandwich?

However, in other questions the subject may fall between the helping verb and the main verb.

HV Subject MV ObjectDo you know Mr. Faisal?

Some exclamatory sentences also change the order of the subject and verb.

V S CWas I worried!

Types of Interrogative Sentence:Single Interrogative:

Single Interrogative sentence starts with a helping verb and subject comes after it. Is he a teacher? Double Interrogative:

This sentence has a W, H interrogative pronoun or adverb along with the helping verb or any form of verb to be with it. What is your name?Zero Interrogative:

It starts with a interrogative pronoun that used as its subject. It has the structure of a declarative sentence. Who has played hokey?

Imperative Sentences

1 Always talk to your elders politely.

2 Please pass on the salt.

3 Tell me what you want.

4 Get lost!

Command means to ask somebody to do something. It includes request, order, advice, etc.

An imperative sentence (command) usually begins with the verb. For example, in the command ‘Be careful’ the verb is the first word. The subject of the sentence is you, even though it is not expressed. We say that the subject you is understood.

Sometimes only one word is necessary to give a command. That word is the verb. The subject is still you and is understood.

(You) Stop! (You) Look!(You) Listen!

We use imperatives for different reasons, such as telling people what to do, giving instructions and advice, making recommendations and suggestions, and for making offers. •Come in and sit down, please. •Don't open the window - it's cold.•Put the coin in the slot and press the red button. •Don't ask her - she doesn't know. •See the doctor - it's the best thing. •Have a bit more coffee.

Emphatic Imperative" We can make an emphatic imperative with do + imperative.

This is common in polite requests, complaints and apologies. i. Do sit down. ii. Do be a bit more careful. iii. Do forgive me - I didn't mean to interrupt. "Passive Imperative" To tell people to arrange for things to be done to them, we

often use get + past participle. Get vaccinated as soon as you can.

Do(n't) be Although do is not normally used as an auxiliary with be, do is used

before be in negative and emphatic imperatives. i. Don't be silly! ii. Do be quiet! Subject with Imperative The imperative does not usually have a subject present in the sentence,

but we can use a noun or pronoun to make it clear who we are speaking to. i. Marium come here - everybody else stay where you are. ii. Somebody answer the phone. iii. Nobody move. iv. Relax, everybody. You before an imperative can suggest emphatic persuasion or anger. i. You just sit down and relax for a bit. ii. You take your hands off me!

Run - on Sentence

1 Hassan got up late in the morning he went to school late.2 Naeem did his best he fail the exam.3 The teacher did not turn up, we waited an hour.

A run-on sentence occurs when two or more sentences are written as one. Sometimes no end mark is placed at the end of the first thought. At other times, a comma is incorrectly used.

Incorrect: The train was late we waited an hour. Incorrect: The train was late, we waited an hour.Correct: The train was late. We waited an hour.

However, use of a comma between two independent clauses not gained by a coordinating conjunction (and, but or, etc) in a major error called the common splice.

There are however, four reliable devices for correcting the run-together sentence and the comma splice.

1. Connect two independent clauses by a comma and a coordinating conjunction if the two clauses are logically or equal importance.Twilight had fallen, and it was dark under the old oak

tree near the house.2. Connect two independent clauses by a semicolon if they are close enough in thought to make one sentence and you want to omit the conjunction.

Twilight had fallen; it was dark under the old oak tree near the house.

3. Write the two independent clauses as separate sentence if you wish to give them separate emphasis.

Twilight had fallen. It was dark under the old oak tree near the house.

4. Subordinate one of the independent clauses:Before twilight had fallen, it was dark under the old oak tree near the house.