Types of Sentences

AbstractIn the English language a sentence is defined as using a subject and a verb to express a thought, action, or idea. Although one can assume there are only a minimal amount of different kinds of sentences, it was discovered through research that there are numerous forms of sentences used today in the English language. Without different forms of sentences conversations would be boring or expressionless, and ideas would not be clearly understood.

Types of SentencesA conversation is the verbal exchange of things or ideas, based on opinions or facts from two or more people, often on a particular topic. Conversations are the ideal form of communication in most cases, since they allow people with different views to learn information from each other. Most important, conversations consist of multiple sentences compiled to complete an entire idea. Without the use of multiple types of sentences, conversations would be dull and rarely used to express ideas.

The University of Calgary (2005) stated, “A sentence is a group of words containing a subject and a predicate.” The most basic type of sentence is the simple sentence, which contains only one clause. The simple sentence is the first kind which children learn to speak and is by far the most common sentence in the oral language of people of all ages. In written work, simple sentences can be very effective for catching a reader's attention or for concluding an argument, but they have to be used carefully: too many simple sentences can make anyone’s writing seem juvenile.

A compound sentence consists of two or more simple sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions like "and," or "but” (University of Calgary, 2005). Compound sentences are often used by Americans: small children learn to use them early in their lives to connect their ideas and to avoid pausing.