A Little Grammar... The Sentence

Lesson Point@... What is a sentence?

• A sentence is a set of words which express a complete idea.
• When writing, you start with a capital letter and end with a full-stop (.), a question mark (?) or an exclamation point (!)
• A sentence has three basic forms: a statement--I live in Dubai. a yes/no question--Do you live in Dubai? and an open question--Where do you live?
• There are two key words or phrases that a sentence must include--a subject (a person, thing or concept) and a verb (a word or phrase which expresses action or expresses the existence of something).

Make sure you understand the following terms:

• capital letter--A, B, C are capital letters; a, b, c are small letters.
• full stop or period--(.)
• question mark--(?)
• exclamation point--(!)
• statement--I work offshore.
• yes/no question--Do you work offshore?
• open question--Where do you work?
• subject--Abu Dhabi is capital of the UAE.
• verb--I am a serviceman. I start my job at 6:00 am.

Practice identifying sentences. Remember that a sentence contains a complete idea. This means that you must have enough information in the sentence to understand its meaning and to be able to respond.

Try the BBC Skillswise game:
Spot the Sentence