In the field of linguistics

Linguistics

Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....

, a sentence is an expression in natural language

Natural language

In the philosophy of language, a natural language is any language which arises in an unpremeditated fashion as the result of the innate facility for language possessed by the human intellect. A natural language is typically used for communication, and may be spoken, signed, or written...

, and often defined to indicate a grammatical

Grammar

In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...

 unit consisting of one or more word

Word

In language, a word is the smallest free form that may be uttered in isolation with semantic or pragmatic content . This contrasts with a morpheme, which is the smallest unit of meaning but will not necessarily stand on its own...

s that generally bear minimal syntactic relation to the words that precede or follow it. A sentence can include words grouped meaningfully to express a statement

Statement

Statement may refer to:* A kind of expression in language *Statement , declarative sentence that is either true or false*Statement , the smallest standalone element of an imperative programming language...

, question

Question

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 may be provided with an answer....

, exclamation

Exclamation

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* Exclamation, a fragrance by Coty, Inc....

, request

Request

Request may refer to:*a question*in computer science, a message sent between objects*in computer science, a request in Hypertext Transfer Protocol*ReQuest Dance Crew, a hip-hop dance crew from New Zealand*Request TV, a defunct pay-per-view service...

, command

Imperative mood

The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...

 or suggestion

Suggestion

Suggestion is the psychological process by which one person guides the thoughts, feelings, or behaviour of another. Nineteenth century writers on psychology such as William James used the words "suggest" and "suggestion" in senses close to those they have in common speech—one idea was said to...

.

A sentence can also be defined in orthographic terms alone, i.e. as simply that which is contained between a capital letter and a full stop. This is arguably more accurate than definitions which conflate orthography and grammar, given the variety of structures which are possible between the capital letter and a full stop. For instance, the opening of Charles Dickens' well known novel, Bleak House, begins with the following three sentences:

London. Michaelmas term lately over, and the Lord Chancellor sitting in Lincoln's Inn Hall. Implacable November weather.

The first sentence involves one single word, a proper noun. The second sentence has only a non-finite verb. The third is a single nominal group

Nominal group

Nominal group may refer to:* Nominal group, alias for Nominal category in statistics* Nominal group * Nominal group technique, group decision-making technique...

. Only an orthographic definition can hope to encompass this variation.

As with all language

Language

Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

 expressions, sentences may contain both function

Function word

Function words are words that have little lexical meaning or have ambiguous meaning, but instead serve to express grammatical relationships with other words within a sentence, or specify the attitude or mood of the speaker...

 and content words, and contain properties distinct to natural language, such as characteristic intonation

Intonation (linguistics)

In linguistics, intonation is variation of pitch while speaking which is not used to distinguish words. It contrasts with tone, in which pitch variation does distinguish words. Intonation, rhythm, and stress are the three main elements of linguistic prosody...

 and timing patterns.

Sentences are generally characterized in most languages by the presence of a finite verb

Finite verb

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 on their own as complete sentences....

, e.g. "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog

"The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is an English-language pangram, that is, a phrase that contains all of the letters of the alphabet. It has been used to test typewriters and computer keyboards, and in other applications involving all of the letters in the English alphabet...

".

Clauses

A clause

Clause

In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase,...

 typically contains at least a subject

Subject

-Philosophy:*Hypokeimenon or subiectum, in metaphysics, the essential being of a thing**Subject , a being that has subjective experiences, subjective consciousness, or a relationship with another entity...

 noun phrase and a finite verb

Finite verb

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 on their own as complete sentences....

. While the subject is usually a noun phrase, other kinds of phrase

Phrase

In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....

s (such as gerund

Gerund

In linguistics* As applied to English, it refers to the usage of a verb as a noun ....

 phrases) work as well, and some languages allow subjects to be omitted. There are two types of clauses: independent and subordinate (dependent). An independent clause demonstrates a complete thought; it is a complete sentence: for example, I am sad. A subordinate clause is not a complete sentence: for example, because I have no friends. See also copula for the consequences of the verb to be on the theory of sentence structure.
A simple complete sentence consists of a single clause. Other complete sentences consist of two or more clauses (see below).

By structure

One traditional scheme for classifying English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 sentences is by the number and types of finite

Finite verb

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 on their own as complete sentences....

 clause

Clause

In grammar, a clause is the smallest grammatical unit that can express a complete proposition. In some languages it may be a pair or group of words that consists of a subject and a predicate, although in other languages in certain clauses the subject may not appear explicitly as a noun phrase,...

s:

• A simple sentence
  Simple sentence
  A simple sentence is a sentence structure that contains one independent clause and no dependent clauses.-Examples:*The runner jumped....
  
  consists of a single independent clause
  Independent clause
  An independent clause is a clause that can stand by itself, also known as a simple sentence. An independent clause contains a subject and a predicate; it makes sense by itself....
  
   with no dependent clause
  Dependent clause
  In linguistics, a dependent clause is a clause that augments an independent clause with additional information, but which cannot stand alone as a sentence. Dependent clauses modify the independent clause of a sentence or serve as a component of it...
  
  s.
• A compound sentence
  Compound sentence (linguistics)
  A compound sentence is composed of at least two independent clauses. It does not require a dependent clause. The clauses are joined by a coordinating conjunction , a correlative conjunction , a semicolon that functions as a conjunction, or a conjunctive adverb preceded by a semicolon. A conjunction...
  
  consists of multiple independent clauses with no dependent clauses. These clauses are joined together using conjunctions
  Grammatical conjunction
  In grammar, a conjunction is a part of speech that connects two words, sentences, phrases or clauses together. A discourse connective is a conjunction joining sentences. This definition may overlap with that of other parts of speech, so what constitutes a "conjunction" must be defined for each...
  
  , punctuation
  Punctuation
  Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and organization of written language, as well as intonation and pauses to be observed when reading aloud.In written English, punctuation is vital to disambiguate the meaning of sentences...
  
  , or both.
• A complex sentence
  Complex sentence
  A complex sentence is a sentence with one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.-Examples:* I ate the meal that you cooked....
  
  consists of at least one independent clause and one dependent clause.
• A complex-compound sentence
  Complex-compound sentence
  A complex-compound sentence or compound-complex sentence is a sentence with at least two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses .-Example:...
  
  (or compound-complex sentence) consists of multiple independent clauses, at least one of which has at least one dependent clause.

By purpose

Sentences can also be classified based on their purpose:

• A declarative sentence or declaration
  Declaration
  Declaration may refer to:* Declaration , specifies the identifier, type, and other aspects of language elements* Declaration , when the captain of a cricket team declares its innings closed...
  
  , the most common type, commonly makes a statement: "I have to go to work."
• An interrogative sentence or question
  Question
  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 may be provided with an answer....
  
   is commonly used to request information — "Do I have to go to work?" — but sometimes not; see rhetorical question
  Rhetorical question
  A rhetorical question is a figure of speech in the form of a question posed for its persuasive effect without the expectation of a reply. Rhetorical questions encourage the listener to think about what the answer to the question must be. When a speaker states, "How much longer must our people...
  
  .
• An exclamatory sentence or exclamation
  Exclamation
  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* Exclamation, a fragrance by Coty, Inc....
  
   is generally a more emphatic form of statement expressing emotion: "I have to go to work!"
• An imperative sentence or command
  Imperative mood
  The imperative mood expresses commands or requests as a grammatical mood. These commands or requests urge the audience to act a certain way. It also may signal a prohibition, permission, or any other kind of exhortation.- Morphology :...
  
   tells someone to do something (and if done strongly may be considered both imperative and exclamatory): "Go to work." or "Go to work!"

Major and minor sentences

A major sentence is a regular sentence; it has a subject

Subject (grammar)

The subject is one of the two main constituents of a clause, according to a tradition that can be tracked back to Aristotle and that is associated with phrase structure grammars; the other constituent is the predicate. According to another tradition, i.e...

 and a predicate

Predicate (grammar)

There are two competing notions of the predicate in theories of grammar. Traditional grammar tends to view a predicate as one of two main parts of a sentence, the other being the subject, which the predicate modifies. The other understanding of predicates is inspired from work in predicate calculus...

.
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 nominal sentence

Nominal sentence

The term nominal sentence can refer to two different phenomena:* a sentence with a predicate consisting of the copula to be plus a predicative, like Bob is a postman.* a sentence with a predicate lacking a finite verb, like The more – the merrier...

s like "The more, the merrier". These do not contain verbs in order to intensify the meaning around the nouns and are normally found in poetry and catchphrases.

Sentences that comprise a single word are called word sentences

Sentence words

Sentence words are single words that form a full sentence, such as "Alas." and "Yes." and "No.". Henry Sweet described them as "a variety of words which have the peculiarity of always forming a sentence by themselves". The Dutch linguist J. M. Hoogvliet calls them "volzinwoorden"...

, and the words themselves sentence words

Sentence words

Sentence words are single words that form a full sentence, such as "Alas." and "Yes." and "No.". Henry Sweet described them as "a variety of words which have the peculiarity of always forming a sentence by themselves". The Dutch linguist J. M. Hoogvliet calls them "volzinwoorden"...

.

See also

• Affirmation
• Assertion
  Assertion
  The term assertion has several meanings:* Assertion , a computer programming technique* Logical assertion, logical assertion of a statement* Proof by assertion, an assertion as opposed to an argument...
  
  
• Grammatical polarity
  Grammatical polarity
  Grammatical polarity is the distinction of affirmative and negative. In English, grammatical polarity is generally indicated by the presence or absence of the modifier not, which negates the statement. Many other languages contain similar modifiers: Italian and Interlingua have non, Spanish has...
  
  
• Inflectional phrase
  Inflectional phrase
  An inflectional phrase or agreement phrase is essentially the same as a sentence in which the verb has finite form.It is a functional phrase which has inflection ....
  
  
• Periodic sentence
  Periodic sentence
  A periodic sentence is a stylistic device employed at the sentence level, characterized as a sentence that is not grammatically complete until the final clause or phrase.-Characteristics:...
  
  
• Sentence arrangement
  Sentence arrangement
  Sentence arrangement refers to the location of ideas and the placement of emphasis within a sentence. Based on these factors, a sentence may be classified as loose, balanced, periodic, or cumulative.-Examples:...
  
  
• Sentence function
  Sentence function
  In linguistics, sentence function refers to a speaker's purpose in uttering a specific sentence, phrase, or clause. Whether a listener is present or not is sometimes irrelevant. It answers the question: "Why has this been said?" The four basic sentence functions in the world's languages include the...
  
  
• T-unit
  T-unit
  In linguistics, the term T-unit was coined by Kellogg Hunt in 1965. It is defined as the "shortest grammatically allowable sentences into which or minimally terminable unit." Often, but not always, a T-unit is a sentence....
  
  

External links

• Basic Sentence Structures
• The definition and meaning of the words "idea", "thought" and "sentence".
• Sentence Variety: Sentence Types
• The Sentence: A Group of Words Expressing a Meaning
• "The Book-Length Sentence" and "The Art of the Very Long Sentence", a history of very long sentences. Ed Park, New York Times Book Review, December 24, 2010 and January 3, 2011 (respectively).
• phraseup* - A writing assistant that helps with completing sentences by finding the missing words we can't recall.