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Information about Sentence (linguistics)

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 the lazy dog."

The parts of a sentence

A simple complete sentence consists of a subject and a predicate. The subject is typically a noun phrase, though other kinds of phrases (such as gerund phrases) work as well, and some languages allow subjects to be omitted. The predicate is a finite verb phrase: it's a finite verb together with zero or more objects, zero or more complements, and zero or more adverbials. See also copula for the consequences of this verb on the theory of sentence structure.

The classification of sentences

Classification by structure

One traditional scheme for classifying English sentences is by the number and types of finite clauses:

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 sentence. It does not contain a finite verb. For example, "mary!" "yes" "coffee" etc. Other examples of minor sentences are headings (e.g. the heading of this entry), stereotyped expressions (Hello!), emotional expressions (Wow!), proverbs, etc. This can also include sentences which do not contain verbs (e.g. The more, the merrier.) in order to intensify the meaning around the nouns (normally found in poetry and catchphrases).[1]

References

For the journal, see .
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, which can be theoretical or applied. Someone who engages in this study is called a linguist.
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See Language (journal) for the linguistics journal.


A language is a system of symbols and the rules used to manipulate them. Language can also refer to the use of such systems as a general phenomenon.
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A finite verb is a verb that is inflected for person and for tense according to the rules and categories of the languages in which it occurs. Finite verbs can form independent clauses, which can stand by their own as complete sentences.
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The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is a 35-letter pangram (a phrase that uses all the letters of the alphabet) that has been used to test typewriters and computer keyboards because it is nicely coherent and short.
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subject of the sentence and the other being its predicate. In English, subjects govern agreement on the verb or auxiliary verb that carries the main tense of the sentence, as exemplified by the difference in verb forms between he eats and they eat.
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predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence (the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies). In current linguistic semantics, a predicate is an expression that can be true of something.
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In linguistics, “gerund” is a term used to refer to various non-finite verb forms in various languages:
  • As applied to English, it refers to what might be called a verb's action noun, which is one of the uses of the -ing form.

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In linguistics, a verb phrase or VP is a syntactic structure composed of the predicative elements of a sentence and functions in providing information about the subject of the sentence.
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An object in grammar is a sentence element and part of the sentence predicate. It denotes somebody or something involved in the subject's "performance" of the verb. As an example, the following sentence is given:

In the sentence "Bobby kicked the ball
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In grammar the term complement is used with different meanings. The core meaning of complement is a word, phrase or clause which is necessary in a sentence to complete its meaning. We find complements which function as a sentence element (i.e.
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In grammar an adverbial is a word (an adverb) or a group of words (an adverbial phrase or an adverbial clause) which modifies or tells us something about the sentence or the verb.
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In linguistics, a copula is a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate (a subject complement or an adverbial). Although it might not itself express an action or condition, it serves to equate (or associate) the subject with the predicate.
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English}}} 
Writing system: Latin (English variant) 
Official status
Official language of: 53 countries
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: en
ISO 639-2: eng
ISO 639-3: eng  
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A finite verb is a verb that is inflected for person and for tense according to the rules and categories of the languages in which it occurs. Finite verbs can form independent clauses, which can stand by their own as complete sentences.
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In grammar, a clause is a word or group of words ordinarily consisting of a subject and a predicate, although in some languages and some types of clauses, the subject may not appear explicitly. (This is especially common in null subject languages.
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A simple sentence is a sentence structure that contains one independent clause and no dependent clauses.

Examples

  • The singer bowed.
This simple sentence has one independent clause which contains one subject, singer, and one predicate,
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In grammar, an independent clause (or main clause) is a clause that can stand by itself as a grammatically viable simple sentence. Independent clauses express a complete thought and contain a subject and a predicate.
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A dependent clause (or subordinate clause) cannot stand alone as a sentence. In itself, a dependent clause does not express a complete thought; therefore, it is usually attached to an independent clause.
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In the English language, a compound sentence is composed of at least two independent clauses, but does not need a dependent clause. The clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction (with or without a comma), a correlative conjunction (with or without a comma), or a semicolon
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conjunction is a part of speech that connects two words, phrases, or clauses together. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" should be defined for each language.
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Punctuation is everything in written language other than the actual letters or numbers, including punctuation marks (listed at right), inter-word spaces, capitalization, and indentation.
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A complex sentence is a sentence with an independent clause and at least one dependent clause (subordinating clause). The dependent clause is introduced by either a subordinate conjunction such as although, while or because
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complex-compound sentence. Sometimes also called a compound-complex sentence.

Examples

The dog lived in the backyard, but the cat, who thought she was superior, lived inside the house.

Independent clauses:
  • The dog lived in the backyard.

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A question may be either a linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or else the request itself made by such an expression. This information is provided with an answer.
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This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims.
Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details.
This article has been tagged since October 2007.

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Exclamation may refer to:
  • Exclamation mark, the punctuation mark !
  • Exclamation, an emphatic sentence
  • Exclamation, an emphatic interjection
  • Exclamation, a statement against penal interest in criminal law

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Command may refer to:
  • Command (military formation), an organizational unit
  • Command (computing), a statement in a computer language
  • Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards
  • Command Records, a record label
  • The imperative grammatical mood

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subject of the sentence and the other being its predicate. In English, subjects govern agreement on the verb or auxiliary verb that carries the main tense of the sentence, as exemplified by the difference in verb forms between he eats and they eat.
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predicate is one of the two main parts of a sentence (the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies). In current linguistic semantics, a predicate is an expression that can be true of something.
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