Sentence: Definition, Structural Parts, Examples, Etc

Basic Writing Skills (Sentence Level)
By Belachew Weldegebriel ([email protected])
Sentence
What is a sentence?
Definitions, Examples, . . .
A sentence
is a group of words which consists of subject and predicate and
expresses a complete thought.

Subject – names who/what is being talked about
Predicate – tells us something about the subject (action/ state of being).
Examples: Subject + verb
The baby cried.
The old man died.
She has gone.
The game ended.
Everyone laughed.
The beautiful girl giggled.
Examples: Subject (verb + adverb)
The baby cried bitterly.
The old man died yesterday.
We worked hard.
They played well.



Examples: Subject + trans verb + object
The boy kicked the ball.
The dog bit the girl.
The satellite rotates the earth.
Edison invented the electric bulb.
The chairman made a livelily speech.
Examples: Subject + trans verb + Direct object + Indirect Object
The President awarded him a gold medal.
I bade my friends a sad farewell.
He gave her some flowers.
She told me an interesting story. 
Subject + link verb + complement
The room smells bad.
She felt sick.
Samuel is an engineer.
The boy is clever.
We are soldiers.
This is a disastrous action.
She was a beloved girl.
They were very friendly.

To sum up, a sentence:
must have subject and predicate (verb);
must express a complete thought;
needs to make sense;
must have a logical word order;
has to begin with a capital letter and end with appropriate terminal/end punctuation mark (./?/!)
can be short or long.
should be acceptable to native speakers of the language.


Look at the following group of words�Can they qualify a sentence?
The clever student in our class.
If you go home earlier.
Samuel killed a big stone.
the party ruled South Africa for the past 40 years.
are Ethiopians we all
The beautiful girl walking down stairs.
The rain was envious.
She sang a beautiful song.

1. Basic Writing Skills Sentence What is a sentence? Definitions, Examples, . . . Compiled by: Belachew Weldegebriel Jimma University CSSH Department of English Language and Literature

2. A sentence is a group of words which consists of subject and predicate and expresses a complete thought . Subject – names who/what is being talked about Predicate – tells us something about the subject (action/ state of being). Subject can be Predicate ca n be Noun Pronoun or Noun Phrase etc Verb alone Verb + adverb Verb + object (Direct and/or Indirect) Verb + complement etc

3. Examples: Subject + verb The baby cried. The old man died. She has gone. The game ended. Everyone laughed. The beautiful girl giggled.

4. Examples: Subject (verb + adverb ) The baby cried bitterly . The old man died yesterday . We worked hard . They played well .

5. Examples: Subject + trans verb + object The boy kicked the ball . The dog bit the girl . The satellite rotates the earth . Edison invented the electric bulb . The chairman made a livelily speech .

6. Examples: Subject + trans verb + Direct object + Indirect Object The President awarded him a gold medal. I bade my friends a sad farewell. He gave her some flowers. She told me an interesting story . 

7. Subject + link verb + complement The room smells bad . She felt sick . Samuel is an engineer . The boy is clever . We are soldiers . This is a disastrous action. She was a beloved girl. They were very friendly.

8. To sum up, a sentence: must have subject and predicate (verb); must express a complete thought; needs to make sense; must have a logical word order; has to begin with a capital letter and end with appropriate terminal/end punctuation mark (./?/!) can be short or long. should be acceptable to native speakers of the language.

9. Look at the following group of words Can they qualify a sentence? The clever student in our class. If you go home earlier. Samuel killed a big stone. the party ruled South Africa for the past 40 years. are Ethiopians we all The beautiful girl walking down stairs. The rain was envious. She sang a beautiful song.