The Sentence

English 8

Ms. Musynske

Types of Sentences:

Declarative ImperativeInterrogativeExclamatory

Declarative

A sentence in the form of a statement

Ends in a period

Example: The boy ran down the block to chase his dog.

Imperative

A type of sentence that gives advice or instructions or that expresses a request or demand.

Example: Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

Exclamatory

Is a sentence that expresses strong feelings by making an exclamation (compared to sentences that make a statement, express a command, or ask a question)

Example: I can’t believe it! Reading and writing actually paid off!– Homer Simpson, The Simpsons

Interrogative

Is a sentence that asks a question, and ends in a question mark

Example: How did it get so late so soon?– Dr. Suess

The Sentence

A sentence is a group of words expressing a complete thought.

A sentence must have a subject and a verb.

The Subject

The subject of a sentence is the person or thing about which you are talking.

A subject may be a noun or a pronoun. It can NEVER be part of a prep. phrase.

Examples:The boy played the game very

well.The students worked hard on

their English project.All of Ms. Musynske’s students

love to read. ( Please God!!) I enjoyed reading your letters

about your lives.

Simple subject /Complete subject

To find the simple subject ask yourself “who” or “what” before the verb.

The complete subject is the simple subject plus all the modifiers (it tells what the sentence is about).

Identify the following as being simple subj. or complete subj. : The girl in the first row read the

story to the class. The students in Ms. Musynske’s

class listened to the tapes of The Monkey’s Paw.

The red and white tulips look lovely. The chocolate brownies tasted

delicious!!

Verb or Predicate

The verb is also called the predicate.

The verb may be an action or a linking verb.

Remember the verb may be a verb phrase.

Simple Predicate/ Complete Predicate

A simple predicate is just the verb.

A complete predicate is the verb plus all the modifiers.

Identify the following as being simple pred. or complete pred.:

Sparks flashed from underneath the hood of the car.

Sparks flashed from underneath the hood.

Little children should not be alone. Little children should not be alone.

Compound subjects

A compound subject consists of two or more subjects in a sentence.

Examples:The Senate and the

House are in session.The teachers and the

principal attended the meeting.

Compound Predicate

A sentence may have more than one predicate in a sentence.

Examples:

The dog barked and growled.

We giggled and laughed at the joke.

Compound parts?

The producer and the director won Academy Awards.

The artist sketched and painted the portrait.

The children and their parents watched and enjoyed the performance.

We read and studied the novel in class.