A sentence is a group of words that express a complete thought. To create clear and meaningful sentences, you need to understand their basic structure. In English, sentences consist of two main parts: the subject and the predicate.

1. The Subject

Definition: The subject of a sentence is the person, place, thing, or idea that is performing the action or being described.

Examples:

  • The dog barks.
  • She runs every morning.

Explanation: The subject can be a noun or pronoun, and it tells us what or who the sentence is about.

2. The Predicate

Definition: The predicate tells us what the subject is doing or describes the subject’s state of being. It contains the verb and often additional information like an object or modifier.

Examples:

  • The dog barks loudly.
  • She runs every morning.

Explanation: The predicate must contain a verb and often tells “what happened” or “what is.” It gives us more information about the subject.

3. Simple Sentences

Definition: A simple sentence consists of a single subject and a single predicate. It expresses one complete thought.

Examples:

  • The cat sleeps.
  • She reads a book.

Explanation: Even though these sentences are short, they are grammatically complete because they contain both a subject and a predicate.

4. Compound Sentences

Definition: A compound sentence contains two or more independent clauses (simple sentences) joined by a coordinating conjunction.

Examples:

  • I went to the park, and she stayed home.
  • The sun was setting, but the air was still warm.

Explanation: Coordinating conjunctions like and, but, or connect ideas of equal importance. Each clause in a compound sentence can stand alone as a complete sentence.

5. Complex Sentences

Definition: A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause (a group of words that cannot stand alone as a sentence).

Examples:

  • Because it was raining, we stayed indoors.
  • She smiled when she saw the surprise.

Explanation: The dependent clause adds extra information to the sentence but cannot stand alone as a sentence. It relies on the independent clause to complete its meaning.

6. Compound-Complex Sentences

Definition: A compound-complex sentence contains two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

Examples:

  • Although he was tired, he finished his homework, and he went to bed early.
  • She loves cooking, but because she was busy, she ordered takeout instead.

Explanation: This type of sentence combines elements from both compound and complex sentences, creating more nuanced and detailed sentences.

Sentence Structure in Practice

Understanding how to structure sentences properly helps ensure clarity and coherence in your writing. By varying your sentence structures—using simple, compound, and complex sentences—you can make your writing more engaging and dynamic.

Quiz: Test Your Knowledge

  1. Identify the subject and predicate in the sentence: The children played in the park.
  2. What type of sentence is this? She went shopping, but she forgot to buy milk.

Answers

  1. Subject: The children Predicate: played in the park.
  2. Type: Compound sentence