The Sentences and its Elements

In everyday conversations, sentences play a vital role in proper communication. They form an integral part of English grammar and hold huge importance in writing and speaking skills. Without the correct formation of sentences, communication collapses, and the transfer of information stops abruptly. Sentences are the collection of words that form a meaningful statement. The length of sentences is not fixed; it can range from two to fifteen words depending upon the usage and requirements of the person. Sentences comprise various parts and types, like the subject, the object and the predicate, that generate and alter different statements in English grammar. 

Types of Sentences:

There are four major types of sentences in English Grammar. It is required to identify types of sentences in a statement to derive the correct meaning. The sentences are classified below, with tips to identify types of sentences:

1. Simple sentences: As the name suggests, these sentences convey a simple meaning through action. Identifying such a sentence is not difficult; only a look at them tells us it is a simple sentence. The structure of a simple sentence is Subject+Verb. They are also known as independent clauses.

Example: 

• She is singing.
• The music is too loud.
• The boys are playing on the ground.

2. Compound sentences are those sentences joined either by a comma or any conjunction. They are formed by combining two or more sentences or two independent clauses. These two clauses coordinate to form a meaningful sentence.

Example:

• I want to go to work, but I am tired.
• She is listening and working at the same time.
• He would come here, or I would go there to meet him.

3. Complex sentences: Again, as the name suggests, these sentences are complex, and their identification is difficult. It consists of two clauses viz Independent Clause and Dependent Clause. They can be either at the starting or the end of a sentence. The Dependent Clause cannot exist without the presence of the independent clause in a sentence.

Example:

• Although he was late, he managed to cope with the syllabus. In this sentence, he managed to cope with the syllabus forms the dependent clause and the other half forms the independent clause.
• When the price increases, then the supply also increases.
• Wherever you go, you will find beauty.

4. Interrogative sentences: These sentences are in the form of questions. They can be easily identified as they are mostly formed by using questions like who, what, when, whom or modals like can, could, will, shall etc. and end with a question mark (?). They are used to enquire or ask something like in an examination.

Example:

• Who did this to our house?
• When did you come here?
• Can you pass me the water?
• May I come in?
• Will you be here tomorrow?

5. Exclamatory sentences: These sentences express statements of joy, sorrow, victory, amusement and other feelings. They include interjections and can be identified easily as they end with an exclamation mark(!). 

Example:

• Alas! We lost.
• Hurray! I got the first prize in painting.
• Oh! I’m so sorry for your loss.

Correct Structure of a Sentence:

People often make various mistakes in forming a grammatically correct sentence. The following points should be kept in mind to form a correct sentence:

• The first letter of every sentence should be written in capital letters.
• The end of the sentence should be by the type of sentence.
• Generally, any sentence is formed with the Subject coming first, the verb in the middle and the object at last.
• There should be Subject-verb agreement in the sentence.

Parts of a Sentence:

To understand the sentences clearly, one needs to understand the multiple parts of a sentence. They significantly determine the sentence’s meaning and play an important role in active and passive voice. There are two main parts of a sentence viz the Subject, the Predicate.

1. The Subject: It is part of a sentence about the doer that can be a person or thing performing a certain activity. This subject can be any qualifiers, like Articles, Demonstratives, Quantifies or headwords like the person’s name or the thing. To identify a subject from a sentence, we question the verb. Example:

• He is playing.

On questioning who is playing, we get the answer “he”, the sentence’s subject.

• My dad is fixing his motorcycle.
• Everyone is busy on their phone. 

2. The Predicate: A part of a sentence explains the subject’s performance. Generally, it makes a statement about the subject and specifies what the subject is doing or what has been done by the subject. To identify a predicate from the sentences, we ask the question what, when, how or other question tags. For example, He was cooking. We get the statement “was cooking”, the sentence’s predicate, one questioning the statement. Example:

• I was walking.
• He was reading books.
• Students were cycling.

Conclusion:

Sentences play an important role in everyday interactions and conversations. The correct use of sentences should be kept in mind while communicating as it expresses our knowledge of English Grammar. Sentences form the basis for learning grammar, and without understanding it, one can face huge difficulties. It is imperative to understand parts of the sentences and identify types of sentences correctly. Proper emphasis should be placed on grasping the Subject-Verb Agreement rules so that our usage of Subject and verb remains by the sentence. One should always consider the parts of the sentences highly essential to identify types of sentences.