English in Use/Sentences Overview
This section will serve as a basic overview of sentences. Each topic will be discussed in more detail in subsequent chapters.
Phrases
[edit | edit source]A phrase is a group of words which contains neither a subject nor a verb. (It may, however, contain a verbal form such as an infinitive, a participle, or a gerund.)[1]
Clauses
[edit | edit source]A clause is a group of words containing at least a subject and a verb (the baby ate), and frequently it lets its hair down by containing some kind of a complement as well (the baby ate the goldfish). There are two kinds of clauses: independent and dependent.[2]
Forms
[edit | edit source]There are three forms of a sentence: simple, compound, and complex, and one combined form: compound-complex.
Simple
[edit | edit source]Compound
[edit | edit source]Complex
[edit | edit source]Compound-complex
[edit | edit source]It is a sentence which is made to by joining two or more simple sentences.
Purposes
[edit | edit source]Sentences are created for four main reasons: to declare, to command, to question, and to exclaim.
Declarative
[edit | edit source]Imperative
[edit | edit source]Interrogative
[edit | edit source]Exclamatory
[edit | edit source]Sentence diagrams
[edit | edit source]| Introduction · About | |
| Words: | Articles · Nouns · Pronouns · Verbs · Adjectives · Adverbs · Prepositions, Conjunctions, and Interjections · Verbals |
|---|---|
| Sentences: | Sentences Overview · Basic Components · Phrases · Clauses · Fragments and Run-on Sentences |
| Usage: | Adjective and Adverb Usage · Pronoun Usage · Subject-verb Agreement · Verb Usage |
| Punctuation: | End Marks · Commas · Apostrophes · Quotations · Other Common Punctuation Marks · Less Common Typographical Marks |
| Other key topics: | Time and Date · Capitalization · Spelling · Figures of Syntax · Syntax · Recent Grammar Restructure Attempts |
| Appendices: | Glossary · Q&A · External Resources · Common errors · History · Dictionary · Thesaurus |