Constructing Sentences: Sentence types

What is a sentence?

• The basic parts of the sentence are the subject and the predicate.
• The predicate is everything the subject is performing and includes at least one verb and sometimes an object/objects.

 

Check out the example sentences below. 

Subject	Predicate
	(verb)
Birds	fly.
Tom	studies	every day.
She	arrived	at school.

 

Complete vs. Incomplete Sentences

 

Let’s take a look at some examples:

1. Jonathan arrived.
2. My younger sister loves to dance.
3. Mail carriers walk a lot.
4. The customer came in.

 

• Do you think these are complete sentences?
• When you read each line, did you understand what the writer was trying to say?

The answers to both question should be "yes." These are complete sentences.

 

Let’s take a look at some groups of words that are not complete sentences:

1. Jonathan at school.
2. Loving to dance.
3. Walked by.
4. The satisfied customer.

 

• Can you identify the subject and verb in each sentence?
• When you read them, did you have any trouble understanding what the writer was trying to say?

 

Probably it was hard for you to fully understand. These sentences do not tell you what Jonathan does, who loves to dance, who walked, and what the customer does.

In other words, they are missing either subjects or verbs and don’t tell the reader a complete thought. Therefore, they are not complete sentences. They are incomplete sentences.

Exercise: Identify the complete (C) and incomplete (I) sentences

 

_____1. The hummingbird sang.

_____2. Roses will blossom.

_____3. He.

_____4. Anne is carrying her canvas.

_____5. My neighbours.

_____6. I met the new neighbours.

_____7. Mexico.

_____8. Jacob will come.

_____9. Music concerts.

_____10. Flew aggressively.

_____11. He was jogging.

Answers: 

C		1. The hummingbird sang.
C		2. Roses will blossom.
IC		3. He.
C		4. Anne is carrying her canvas.
IC		5. My neighborhood.
C		6. I met the new neighbors.
IC		7. Mexico.
C		8. Jacob will come
IC		9. Music concerts.
IC		10. Flew aggressively.
C		11. He was jogging.

 

Created under the direction of Learning Centre faculty at Douglas College, British Columbia.

 

Content Developers & Editors

​Megumi Taguchi Cecil Klassen Julia Robinson Janice Penner Joy Kim Joyce Cameron