What is sentence ?
A sentence is a group of words that are put together to mean something. A sentence is the basic unit of language which expresses a complete thought.
The following are all complete in themselves, make sense and are, therefore,all sentences:
We are running in the field.
Close the door.
What is your name?
What a beautiful flower it is!
Minor sentences or irregular sentences :
The following examples are also all complete in themselves and make sense and are, therefore, sentences. They are known as minor sentences or irregular sentences. They are called minor sentences because they lack some of the other usual grammatical features of a sentence. For example, a minor sentence often lacks a subject and a predicate.
Minor sentences are most common in spoken English and in conversation in literary fiction. They are also common in certain kinds of written English such as notices, labels and adverts. The following are examples of minor sentences:
No!
Nonsense!
How terrible!
What a view!
Good try!
No way!
Taxi!
Poison!
No entry.
Well done!
Once bitten, twice shy.
Major sentences or regular sentences :
Other sentences are known as major sentences or regular sentences. A major sentence usually has a subject and predicate. The following are examples of major sentences:
We ran.
The boy kicked the ball.
Mother baked a cake.
She leaves tomorrow.
They are coming to town.
She studied hard, but she failed the exam.
I called him when I arrived.
Subject and Predicate :
Basically, a sentence is a combination of two grammatical units—the subject and the predicate.
Subject
The subject of a sentence refers to what the sentence is
about, often the person or thing that carries out the action of the
verb. The subject usually gives a clear idea of what the sentence is
about.
In the following sentences the underlined words form the subject of the sentence :
Children are playing in the park.
Money is extremely important to him.
People are beginning to leave.
My friend is giving a party.
Delhi is the capital of India.
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| Subject and predicate |
Predicate
The predicate refers to the part of a sentence or clause that gives information about the subject. It is basically all the parts of a clause or sentence that are not contained in the subject. It can either be a single verb or a number of elements.
Thus in the sentence
The little girl fell.
the word fell is the predicate of the sentence.
Similarly, in the sentence
The tired old man slept soundly.
the words slept soundly form the predicate of the sentence.
In the following sentences the underlined words form the predicate of the sentence:
Harry fainted.
Peter was rich and powerful.
Children screamed loudly.
The lights went out all of a sudden.
Workers protested long and loudly at the factory gates.
They are leaving at the end of next week.
