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In linguistics, a 'sentence' is a unit of language, characterized in most languages by the presence of a finite verb. For example, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."

Contents

The parts of a sentence

The classification of sentences

Classification by structure

Classification by purpose

Major and minor sentences

References

The parts of a sentence

A simple ''complete sentence'' consists of a ''subject'' and a ''predicate''. The subject is typically a noun phrase, though other kinds of phrases (such as gerund phrases) work as well, and some languages allow subjects to be omitted. The predicate is a finite verb phrase: it's a finite verb together with zero or more objects, zero or more complements, and zero or more adverbials. See also copula for the consequences of this verb on the theory of sentence structure.

The classification of sentences

Classification by structure

One traditional scheme for classifying English sentences is by the number and types of finite clauses:

★ A ''simple sentence'' consists of a single independent clause with no dependent clauses.

★ A ''compound sentence'' consists of multiple independent clauses with no dependent clauses. These clauses are joined together using conjunctions, punctuation, or 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 sentence. It does not contain a finite verb. For example, "mary!" "yes" "coffee" etc. Other examples of minor sentences are headings (e.g. the heading of this entry), stereotyped expressions (''Hello!''), emotional expressions (''Wow!''), proverbs, etc. This can also include sentences which do not contain verbs (e.g. ''The more, the merrier.'') in order to intensify the meaning around the nouns (normally found in poetry and catchphrases).^[1]

References

1. Exploring Language: Sentences