SENTENCE AND TYPES OF

SENTENCES
WHAT IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE?

 Sentences provide us with the framework for the clear written

expression of our ideas.
 The aim in writing is always to write in complete sentences which

are correctly punctuated.

 Sentences always begin with a capital letter and end in either a full

stop, exclamation or question mark.

 E.g. Have you submitted your work?

 I have submitted my work.

 What an idea!

 A complete sentence always contains a verb, expresses a

complete idea and makes sentence standing alone.

EXAMPLE
 I prepare lesson. (simple sentence) Independent clause
 Because I teach third grade students. (Incomplete sentence)

dependent Clause
 I prepare lesson because I teach third grade students.

(Complete sentence)
 Andy reads quickly. (complete sentence)
 It contains a verb (reads), expresses a complete idea and it does

not need any further information for the reader to understand the
sentence.
 On the floor (this is an example phrase) , put down (phrasal verb)

(Incomplete sentence)
When Andy reads (Incomplete sentence)
 It contains a verb, but the opening word when tells us that

something happens when Andy reads; we need more information

to complete the idea.
When Andy reads, he reads quickly. (Complete sentence)
 The whole idea of the sentence has been expressed
Categories the below given sentences as complete and incomplete
 There is another theory . Which should not be ignored .

 There is another theory which should not be ignored.

 The proposal was finally rejected . Although they considered it.

 Although they considered the proposal, it was finally rejected.

 He came oftener than we expected.

 Listen carefully.

 Listen carefully and take notes.

PARTS OF A SENTENCE
 A group of words must have a subject and a predicate which
always contains a verb.
 S+V+O/ S+P (V/V+O) Andy reads: In this sentence Andy is

the subject whereas reads is the verb

 Andy reads the book: over here Andy is the subject, reads is

the verb whereas book is the object.

 In its simplest sense, the subject refers to the doer of the

action or to what the sentence is all about

 The predicate is the part of the sentence that modifies or tells

something about the subject

TYPES OF SENTENCES ON THE BASIS OF THEIR
STRUCTURE:
 Sentences are made up of clauses: groups of words that
express a single idea.
 There are two types of clauses: independent

clauses and dependent clauses.

 Independent clauses can stand alone as complete sentences.

 A dependent clause needs an independent clause to

complete its meaning.

 Note: Different types of sentences are made up of different

combinations of these two types of clauses.

 Simple sentences consist of just one independent clause; it
requires only one punctuation mark at the end (a full stop,
exclamation or question mark).
Formula: Subject + predicate (verb based part)
 They went to the mall.

 Dogs bark.

 The train was late.

 He reads many books.

 I like spaghetti.
 Compound sentences are made by joining simple sentences. We
join sentences which are closely related in content to make the
writing more fluid. We can join simple sentences with a comma
and a word such as: and, but, so, yet.
 Independent clause + ; + Independent clause

Ms. uzma reads books; she sometimes shares them with her
students.
 Independent clause +,+ conjunction + Independent clause

He organized his sources by theme; he updated his reference list.

Freshmen are really excited about being in high school; most Juniors
are ready to go to college.
The essay was late; he lost marks.
 Coordinating Conjunction: FANBOYS

 For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

COMPOUND SENTENCE EXAMPLES

 Below are two simple complete sentences, each with its own
subject and verb:
 I have a pet iguana. His name is Fluffy.

 To combine them into a compound sentence, we simply add a

comma plus the coordinating conjunction and:

 I have a pet iguana, and his name is Fluffy.

 Alternatively, we can make a compound sentence by adding

only a semicolon, and the sentence will still be correct:

 I have a pet iguana; his name is Fluffy.
I have a pet iguana whose name is Fluffy.
To be a compound sentence, it needs at least two subjects and two
verbs. If both independent clauses use the same subject, it must be
stated twice, as in the quote below, for the sentence to be
compound.
“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the
water to create many ripples.” —Mother Teresa

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I came here to chew bubblegum and study grammar. (not
compound)
I came here to chew bubble gum and study grammar, but I’m all out
of gum. (corrected)
 Keep in mind that imperative sentences don’t always show
their subjects, because they’re implied. That leads to
compound sentences like this example, the first independent
clause of which has the implied subject you:
 Get me some water, or the fire will spread!

 “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” —

Lao Tzu
 “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” —Oscar Wilde

 “You will face many defeats in life, but never let yourself be

defeated.” —Maya Angelou

Complex sentences are made when we combine an independent
clause with a dependent clause.
Complex sentences are easy to spot as they often use subordinating
conjunctions like because, since, or until to connect clauses.
If a sentence begins with a dependent clause, note the comma after this
clause. If, on the other hand, the sentence begins with an independent
clause, there is not a comma separating the two clauses.
 [Incorrect] When I grow up[incorrect]

 [Correct] When I grow up, I’ll use complete sentences.[correct]

 One of the most common types of complex sentence is

conditional sentences, which discuss imaginary situations, often using

an if-then structure. In conditional sentences, one clause is true only
if both clauses are true.
 “If you’re always trying to be normal, you will never know how

amazing you can be.” —Maya Angelou

 With a subordinating conjunction, a clause becomes a description
of another clause
 In this way, dependent clauses change the meaning of

independent clauses. Consider this example of an independent

clause:
 You cannot leave the school.

 That sounds scary! Alone, this independent clause means that you

must remain at school forever. Now, let’s add a dependent clause

to make a complex sentence that clarifies things further:
 You cannot leave the school until the bell rings.
  Cause and effect relationship: for, as, since, though, due to,
provided that, because of, unless, and so/so that.
 Time and place relationship: once, while, when, whenever,

where, wherever,
after
be
Whether or As soon as even though Now that so unless
nor
although While as though if Once supposing until

as Fore because in case Only Than when

as if after before in order that Only if That whenever

As long as wherever by the time in the event Provided though where

that that

As much as even if lest Since till whereas

 Simple sentences:
 Troy ate a giant cookie. He got a stomachache.

 Complex sentence:

 After Troy ate a giant cookie, he got a stomachache.

 Other examples from famous writers

 “If the path is beautiful, let us not ask where it leads.” —Anatole France

 “It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when they have lost their

way.” —Rollo May

 “Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.” —Satchel

Paige
 “It doesn’t matter how slowly you go as long as you don’t stop.” —Confucius

 “Because things are the way they are, things will not stay the way they

are.” —Bertolt Brecht

 Complex Sentence= dependent clause+ , +simple
sentence
 Complex Sentence= Indepentent clause + dependent

clause
 Although she completed her literature review, she still needed to

work on her methods section.

 Because he organized his sources by theme, it was easier for his

readers to follow.
 They studied APA rules for many hours as they were so

interesting.
 He lost marks because the essay was late.

 The emphasis tends to fall on the clause at the beginning of the

sentence.
 Compound complex sentences
 Contain two independent clause and one dependent clause.
 Put comma after dependent clause if it begins the sentence.

 Put the comma before ‘and’, ‘but’ or ‘or’ that connects the two

independent clauses.
 Charlie could not hear his watch because it had stopped , and he

was worried .
 Because it had stopped , Charlie could not hear his watch, and

he was worried.
 Although Sara called out for Charlie , no one answered , and

Sara was scared .

 Sara could not see Charlie but when she was on the hilltop, she

could hear him cry out.

TYPES OF SENTENCES ON THE BASIS OF THEIR
FUNCTION:
 When we are writing and speaking, we use different types of
sentences to say what we want to say.
 There are four main types of sentences:

 declarative

 interrogative

 imperative and

 exclamatory; each with its own specific purpose

DECLARATIVE SENTENCES
 Declarative sentences give information.
 We use them to share facts and statements, in other words,

to declare things.
 In fact, it is probably the type of sentence we use most each

day.
 The dog went to the county fair.

 She saw the dog eat popcorn.

 Dogs don’t usually eat popcorn.

 The popcorn was hot.

 I like popcorn.
 A declarative sentence is written like statement, basically, “A is
B” or “A does B.”
 It can express feelings, but not very strong feelings. For example

“I like popcorn,” is a simple sentence that “declares” something

you like.
 If you write “I LOVE popcorn!”, it expresses a strong feeling,

which makes it an exclamatory sentence

INTERROGATIVE SENTENCES
 Quite simply, an interrogative sentence is a question.
 It is easy to recognize because it always ends in a question

mark (?).
 Questions ask things like who, what, where, when, why, and

how. Here are some examples:

 Why is the dog going to the county fair?

 Have you ever been to a county fair?

 What is your favorite snack?

 How do you make popcorn?

 Or, you can change the word order within a declarative
sentence. For example, the sentence below, can easily be
made into a question:
 Declarative Sentence:

 The popcorn is delicious.

 New Interrogative Sentence (or question)

 Is the popcorn delicious?

 Imperative Sentences
 An imperative is a word expressing a command, thus, an

imperative sentence gives instructions, requests, or demands,

or shares a wish or invitation.
 Basically, they tell someone what to do or reflect something you

want to happen.
 Here are some examples:

 Have fun at the fair! (Expressing a wish)

 Come to the fair with me! (Sharing an invitation)
 Feed the dog once per day. (Giving instructions)
 Please don’t give the dog popcorn. (Sharing a request)
 Stop feeding the dog! (Giving a demand)
 The verbs in imperative sentences are in what is called

an “imperative mood,” meaning they give commands.

 Writing an imperative sentence is easy, but it’s important to
remember its role.
 Its tone can be fairly neutral; or, it can express strong emotions.

Because of this, they can end in either a period or an

exclamation mark. For instance, a forceful command should end
with an exclamation mark, but a more neutral request only needs
a period.
 Even if it ends with an exclamation mark, an imperative

sentence CANNOT be an exclamatory sentence, because

exclamatory sentences do not share commands.
 Exclamatory Sentences
 Exclamatory sentences share strong feelings or excitement.

 They are just like declarative sentences in that they share

declarations, but the difference is that the words are said with
more emotion.
 They are powerful sentences, so they always end with an

exclamation mark. Here are a few:

 I can’t believe how fast the dog ran to the county fair!

 Wow, he must really love popcorn!

 You should use an exclamatory sentence to make your words
exciting, “loud,” or full of emotion. When you want to write an
exclamatory sentence, you should think of a more powerful way
of wording what you want to say. For example, let’s take the
declarative sentence “That dog is fluffy.” To make it an
exclamatory sentence we just need to add some feeling: “Wow,
that dog is so fluffy!”