A sentence is a set of words that makes complete sense. A sentence always gives a complete idea.
Every sentence has two parts:
She (subject) speaks (predicate).
John and Cody (subject) play (verb) basketball whenever they get time (predicate).
In the given sentence, John and Cody are the subjects. Play basketball whenever they get time is the predicate, and play is the verb.
Look at these sentences:
We see that:
We use the four basic types of sentences in our writing to convey different tones.
1. Declarative sentences form a statement:
2. Interrogative sentences form a question:
3. Imperative sentences make a command or a polite request:
Notice that these sentences don't seem to have a subject. Actually, they have what we call an understood subject, and it is you. The reader or listener understands that the subject of each sentence is you.
4. Exclamatory sentences show powerful feelings:
Notice that an exclamatory sentence can also have an understood subject (you). This is demonstrated in the first example, "Get out of here!"
Type of Sentence | Use | Punctuation Mark | Examples |
Declarative | Forms a statement | (.) |
|
Interrogative | Asks a question | (?) |
|
Imperative | Gives a command or makes a polite request | (.) or (!) |
|
Exclamatory | Shows powerful feelings | (!) |
|