University Badji Mokhtar.

Annaba
20021/2022
Faculty of Arts.
Department of Translation.
English language Consolidation.
L1 / S1

Sentence Types and Functions

Objectives of the Lesson
• 1-Consolidating the students’ knowledge about the functions and
types of sentences in English.
• 2-Focusing on the simple sentence structure.
• 3-Stressing the importance of sentence structure which serves as a
framework for students to make their ideas clear and precise
What is a Sentence?

• A group of words that makes complete sense is called a sentence. lt

contains a subject and a predicate and is able to stand on its own.
• Subject: The subject is the word or group of words that tell as to what
or whom we are talking about.
• Predicate: The predicate is the part of the sentence that makes a
statement about the subject as to what the subject is doing or
something concerning the subject.
Sentence Types According to Function

 declarative sentences

 interrogative sentences

 imperative sentences

 exclamatory sentences
Declarative Sentences

• A declarative sentence is the most basic type of sentence. Its purpose

is to relay information, and it is punctuated with a period.
• For example:
•  The boy walked home.
•  I love honey.
•  He wants to eat cookies, but he doesn't know how to make them.
Interrogative Sentences

• Interrogative sentences interrogate, or ask questions. These are direct

questions, and they are punctuated with a question mark.
For example:
 Why does the sun shine?
 Whose dog is that?
· Will Sherri get to keep all her lottery winnings?
· Many interrogative sentences start with question words like "how" or "why,"
but others are yes/no questions that begin with the verb instead of the noun.
· It is important to remember that interrogative sentences still require a noun
and a verb to be complete
Exclamatory Sentences
• Exclamatory sentences are like declarative sentences in that they
make a statement instead of asking a question, but their main
purpose is to express strong emotion. They are easily recognized
because they end in an exclamation point instead of a period.
• Example:
•  I said I wanted tacos instead of pizza!
•  How well he sings!
•  Wow, he just won a gold medal!
Imperative Sentences

• Imperative sentences do not simply state a fact but rather tell someone to
do something. These can be in the form of friendly advice, basic
instructions or more forceful commands.
• For example:
•  Please shut the door to keep out the bugs.
•  Turn left at the bridge.
•  Stop bothering me!
• Many imperative sentences end in periods, but some of the more forceful
demands may end in an exclamation point to highlight the emotion
Sentence Types According to Structure
• Sentence are classified according to structure into four types:
Simple, Compound, Complex, and Compound-Complex Simple
Sentences
A simple sentence
• contains a subject and a verb. - It expresses a single complete thought that can stand
on its own.
• Examples:
• 1. The baby cried for food. ^There is a subject and a verb that expresses a complete
thought.
• 2. Professor William’s intelligent students completed and turned in their homework. ^
A simple sentence does not necessarily have to be short. It can have adjectives. In this
case, there are two verbs “completed” and “turned in.” However, the sentence
expresses one complete thought and therefore is a simple sentence.
• 3. John and Jim ate too much and felt sick. ^Although there are two subjects and two
verbs, it is still a simple sentence because both verbs share the same subjects and
express one complete thought.
Compound Sentences
• A compound sentence has two independent clauses.
• An independent clause is a part of a sentence that can stand alone because it contains
a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought.
• - Basically, a compound contains two simple sentences. - These independent clauses
are joined by a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).
• Examples:
• 1. The shoplifter had stolen clothes, so he ran once he saw the police. ^Both sides of
the conjunction “so” are complete sentences. “The shoplifter had stolen clothes” can
stand alone and so can “he ran once he saw the police.” Therefore, this is a compound
sentence.
• 2. They spoke to him in Spanish, but he responded in English. ^This is also a
compound sentence that uses a conjunction to separate two individual clauses
Complex Sentences
• A complex sentence is an independent clause joined by one or more
dependent clauses.
• A dependent clause either lacks a subject or a verb or has both a subject and
a verb that does not express a complete thought.
• - A complex sentence always has a subordinator (as, because, since, after,
although, when) or relative pronouns (who, that, which). Examples:
• 1. After eating lunch at The Cheesecake Factory, Tim went to the gym to
exercise. ^ The independent clause is ‘Tim went to the gym to exercise.” The
subordinating clause before it is dependent on the main, independent
clause. If one were to say “after eating lunch at The Cheesecake Factory,” it
would be an incomplete thought.
• 2. Opinionated women are given disadvantages in societies that privilege male
accomplishments. ^ The subject is “opinionated women” and the verb is “are
given.”
• The first part of the sentence “opinionated women are given disadvantages in
societies” is an independent clause that expresses a complete thought. The
following “that privilege male accomplishments” is a relative clause that
describes which types of societies.
• 3. The woman who taught Art History was fired for stealing school supplies. ^
The dependent clause in this sentence is “who taught Art History ” because if
removed, the rest of the sentence would stand as an independent clause. “Who
taught Art History ” is an adjective clause that provides necessary details about
the subject, woman.
Compound-Complex Sentences
• A compound-complex sentence has two independent clauses and at least
one dependent clause.
• Examples:
• 1. After the two soccer players lost their game, they joined their other
teammates for lunch, and they went to the movies. ^ If we remove the
dependent clause “after the two soccer players lost their game,” we have a
compound sentence. The dependent clause makes this sentence compound-
complex.
• 2. The man believed in the system, and he knew that justice would prevail
after the understood" because the reader is aware that each sentence could
be written as "you do this" or murderer was sent to jail.