1 THE SENTENCE
1.1What is a sentence
All academic writing is based on sentences. In other forms of communication, it is often
acceptable to speak or write in any form that gets the meaning across; however, in academic
writing your sentences have to be correct. There are many definitions of a sentence, but the
following one expresses the meaning quite clearly:
A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.
It has to have a subject (noun or pronoun). This is usually the person,
thing or concept that does the action in the sentence and is called the
actor. It tells who or what the sentence is about.
e.g. Jack ran.
Jill ran.
Jack and Jill ran.
The well has good water.
Running is good for you.
It has to have a predicate (verb or verb phrase). This is usually the
action that the actor does. It describes what the subject is or is doing.
e.g. Jack ran.
Jill ran.
Jill is taller than Jack.
The words "ran" and "is" are the verbs because they tell us what Jack and Jill are up to.
It has to express a complete thought.
That means that the sentence should supply enough information so that you are
satisfied. If the sentence reads like the following examples, you would know that
something is missing:
Because Jack and Jill were running up the hill.
Jack and Jill are.
Running up the hill in order to go to university.
Here are some more examples of subjects and verbs in a complete sentence:
Subject Verb
Jill runs to the well.
The well is located on top of a hill.
It is full of water.
Jack and Jill are exhausted when they get to the well.
Jill shouts. Be careful!
In a sentence the subject comes before the verb. However, sometimes the roles are
reversed, i.e. in questions:
Then it looks like this:
Verb Subject Verb
Are Jack and Jill running up the hill?
Don't they know that it is exhausting?
To find the subject, ask yourself:
"What word is the sentence describing?"
"Who or what is doing the action in the sentence?"
To find the subject in a question, turn the question into a statement.
Jack and Jill are really running up the hill.
They don't know that it is exhausting.
To find the verb ask yourself: "What did the subject do?"
Jack and Jill ran up the hill.
They don't know that it is exhausting.
1.2Types of Sentences
There are four (4) types of sentences: declarative, interrogative, exclamatory, and
imperative.
1.2.1Declarative sentence (it makes a statement): a sentence that tells something. Use a
period (full stop) at the end of a statement.
e.g. Ducks lay eggs in the spring.
1.2.2Interrogative sentence (question): a sentence that asks something. Use a question
mark at the end of a question.
e.g. Is that a lion ?
1.2.3Exclamatory sentence (exclamation): a sentence that shows a strong feeling. Use an
exclamation mark at the end of an exclamation.
e.g. You really surprised me !
What a beautiful place this is !
1.2.4Imperative sentence (command): a kind of sentence that gives an order or direction.
Use a period at the end of a command.
e.g. Stand up.
Please open the door.
1.3Differences between Sentences, Clauses and Phrases
1.3.1Sentences
Sentences are made of two parts: the subject and the predicate. They express a complete
thought.
The subject is the person or thing that acts or is described in the sentence. The predicate,
on the other hand, is that action or description.
Complete sentences need both the subject and the predicate.
e.g. She eats an apple.
Leila is beautiful.
1.3.2Clauses
All clauses have a subject and a predicate. Sentences can be broken down into clauses.
e.g. The boy is going to the school, and he is going to eat there.
This is a complete sentence composed of two clauses.
There are mainly two types of clauses: independent clauses and subordinate clauses.
Independent clauses act as complete sentences, while subordinate clauses cannot stand
alone and need another clause to complete their meaning.
e.g. Independent clause: “The boy went to the school.”
Subordinate clause: “After the boy went to the school…
A phrase is a group of two or more grammatically linked words that do not have subject and
predicate. A phrase acts as parts of speech inside clauses. That is, they can act as nouns,
adjectives, adverbs and so on.
2 CLAUSES
In grammar, a clause is a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate. The
most basic kind of sentence consists of a single clause; more complicated sentences may
contain multiple clauses. There are two types of clauses : independent clauses and dependent
clauses.
-If a clause can stand alone as a sentence, it is an independent clause.
e.g. Independent : The Prime Minister is in Ottawa
-Some clauses, however, cannot stand alone as sentences: in this case, they are dependent
clauses or subordinate clauses. Consider the same clause with the subordinating conjunction
"when" added to the beginning: e.g. Dependent: When the Prime Minister is in Ottawa
In this case, the clause could not be a sentence by itself, since the conjunction "when"
suggests that the clause is providing an explanation for something else. Since this dependent
clause answers the question "when?".
