Sentence (linguistics)
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In linguistics, a sentence is a unit of language, characterized in most languages by the presence of a finite verb. For example, "The quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog."
The parts of a sentence
Traditionally, each sentence is regarded as having a subject, an object and a verb, even if one of these is implied. See grammar for more details. The objects that modify the noun phrase collectively form the predicate of a sentence. An incomplete sentence is called a sentence fragment.
The classification of sentences
Classification by structure
One traditional scheme for classifying English sentences is by the number and types of finite clauses:
- A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause with no dependent clauses.
- A compound sentence consists of multiple independent clauses with no dependent clauses. These clauses are joined together using conjunctions, punctuation, both.
- A complex sentence consists of one independent clause with at least one dependent clause.
- A complex-compound sentence (or compound-complex sentence) consists of multiple independent clauses, at least one of which has at least one dependent clause.
Classification by purpose
Sentences can also be classified based on their purpose:
- A declarative sentence or declaration, the most common type, commonly makes a statement: I am going home.
- An interrogative sentence or question is commonly used to request information — When are you going to work? — but sometimes not; see rhetorical question.
- An exclamatory sentence or exclamation is generally a more emphatic form of statement: What a wonderful day this is!
- An imperative sentence or command is ordinarily used to make a demand or request: Go do your homework.
Major and minor sentences
A major sentence is a regular sentence; it has a subject and a predicate. For example: I have a ball. In this sentence one can change the persons: We have a ball. However, a minor sentence is an irregular type of a sentence. It does not follow all the grammatical rules; For example: How do you do? In this sentence one cannot change the person, for example. It is a kind of greeting and therefore saying How do they do? is not something one would normally express in a greeting. Other examples of minor sentences are headings (e.g. the heading of this entry), stereotyped expressions (Hello!), emotional expressions (Wow!), proverbs etc.
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