Page 108 - DENG101_Communication Skills-I

Unit 10: Kinds of Sentences

Notes
Example: 1. Because I gave you the pen, you could write a brilliant letter.
In the Example 1 given above, there are two clauses, viz.,
Because I gave you the pen dependent clause

(it has both, subject and predicate) (doesn’t make complete sense)
you could write a brilliant letter independent clause
(it has both, subject and predicate) (gives a complete sense, can stand alone)

Example: 2. The chief guest arrived and the drama began.
In the Example 2 above, there are two clauses, viz.,
The chief guest arrived independent clause
(it has both, subject and predicate) (gives a complete sense, can stand alone)
the drama began. independent clause

(it has both, subject and predicate) (gives a complete sense, can stand alone)

Example: 3. Before the chief guest arrived, the drama had begun.
In the Example 3 above, there are two clauses, viz.,

Before the chief guest arrived dependent clause
(it has both, subject and predicate) (Doesn’t make a complete sense)
the drama had begun. independent clause
(it has both, subject and predicate) (gives a complete sense, can stand alone)

Phrase: Quite commonly confused with clause, a phrase is an expression which contains a single
thought but is not necessarily a complete sentence. It can be a single word, but usually it is a
group of words.

A phrase does not have subject-predicate combination.

Examples:

1. The chief guest arrived at the theatre and the drama began.
2. Before the chief guest arrived, the drama had begun with a lot of pomp and show.
In the examples above, the part italicized is the phrase.

10.2 Kinds of Sentences

After having understood the basic components of a sentence, now let us move to the various
types of sentences. Sentences are primarily of following types:
1. Positive
2. Negative
3. Statement

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