Build a Complete Sentence

A sentence is a group of words that shares a complete thought. Learning to find its main parts gives you a useful starting point for all the grammar in this course. In this lesson, you will look for who or what a sentence is about and what that subject does or is.

Find the subject and the verb

The subject tells who or what

The subject is the person, animal, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. Ask who or what before the action to help find it. In The small dog barked, the sentence is about the dog, so dog is the subject. The word small gives more information about the dog, but it is not the main subject.

The verb tells an action or a state

A verb can tell what someone or something does, such as run, think, or write. It can also tell what someone or something is or feels, as in is, seems, or feels. In The soup is warm, soup is the subject and is is the verb. A sentence can have extra words, but the subject and verb are a helpful core.

Try reading a sentence and asking two questions: Who or what is this about? What does that person or thing do, or what is true about it? For example, in Our class reads a story, the class is the subject and reads is the verb. In The windows are open, windows is the subject and are is the verb.

Make a complete thought

A sentence needs enough information

A complete sentence usually tells us a subject and a verb, and it makes sense as a whole thought. Birds sing is complete: it tells us who and what they do. My friend is not a complete sentence by itself because we do not know what the friend does or what is true about the friend. Ran down the path is also incomplete if we do not know who ran.

Notice sentence fragments

A fragment is a word group that looks like a sentence but leaves out an important part. A heading such as After the game can be useful in a note, but it does not tell a complete thought. You can complete it by adding a subject and verb: After the game, we went home. A fragment can also be fixed by adding a missing subject: The team cheered after the game.

When you are unsure, read the words aloud. Ask whether a listener would know who or what you mean and what happened. Some short sentences have an understood subject in conversation, such as Stop! The person being spoken to is understood. In school writing, practise making the subject clear unless the instruction is meant to be short.

Put words in a clear order

Start with a simple pattern

Many English sentences use this pattern: subject, verb, then other information. For example, Maya draws a flower. Maya is the subject, draws is the verb, and a flower tells what she draws. The sentence A flower Maya draws is harder to understand because the familiar order has changed. Grammar helps readers see how the words connect.

Add details without losing the core

You can add details before or after the core sentence. Maya draws a flower can become Maya draws a bright flower in her notebook. The subject is still Maya and the verb is still draws. The detail words tell what the flower is like and where she draws it. If a sentence becomes long, check that its subject and verb still match and that the main idea remains easy to find.

Here is another example: On Saturday, the children played outside. The opening phrase tells when. The subject is children, and the verb is played. Keep the core in mind when you add information: details can make writing vivid, but the sentence still needs to express a complete thought.

Key takeaways

• The subject tells who or what a sentence is about.
• The verb tells an action or a state.
• A complete sentence expresses a complete thought.
• Simple subject, verb, and detail order is often easiest to follow.

Practice

Write three complete sentences about a familiar activity. Underline the subject in each sentence and circle the verb. Then choose one fragment, such as After lunch, and turn it into a complete sentence by adding a subject and a verb.