Sentence (linguistics)
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In linguistics, a sentence is a unit of language, characterised in most languages by the presence of a finite verb. For example, "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog." The shortest legal sentences in the English language are "I am" and "I do" - although with some bending of the rules, the imperative "Go!" can be considered the shortest correct sentence.
Traditionally, each sentence is regarded as having a subject, an object and a verb, even if one of these is implied. See grammar for more details. The objects that modify the noun phrase collectively form the predicate of a sentence. An incomplete sentence is called a sentence fragment.
In the English language, linguists classify sentences into one of four types based on their structure:
Sentences can also be classified based on their purpose:
- Declarative sentences (Declarations)
- Used to state a fact or argument that does not require a response from the listener. For example:
- I am going home.
- Interrogative sentences
- Used to ask a question that expects an answer from the listener. For example:
- When are you going to work?
- Rhetorical questions
- Appears in the form of a question that is not expected to be answered by the listener and generally used emphasize a statement or argument. For example:
- Who am I to question his authority?
- Exclamatory sentences (Exclamations)
- Used to make a forceful or emphatic statement or argument. Can also be an interjection. For example:
- This is such a wonderful day!
- Wow!
- Imperative sentences (Imperatives)
- Used to give a direct command or request to the listener. Can also appear in the form of a question. For example:
- Go do your homework.
- Would you please pass the bread?da:Sætning (grammatik)
de:Satz (Grammatik) fa:جمله fr:Phrase he:משפט (לשון) nl:Zin pl:Zdanie ru:Предложение