The meaning of a sentence

Site: KWASU-Virtual
Course: GNS101 - Use of English I
Book: The meaning of a sentence
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Clement DADA
by:
Wednesday, 1 February 2023, 10:59
Date:
AM
 Description
It is necessary for you to get familiar with what a sentence is all about, such as definitions, types,
structures, functions with relevant examples. Sentence originates from a group of words that is
complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question,
exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate
clauses, which are most times based on the natural quest to use language.

You can as well define a sentence as a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a
subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a
main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses. A sentence starts with
a capital letter when written. Ideally, a sentence requires at least one subject and one verb. Sometimes
the subject of a sentence can be hidden, but the verb must be visible and present in the sentence.
From the above definition, you will notice that a verb is regarded as the heart of a sentence. Let us look
at some examples to illustrate the points raised.

Examples:
1. Derayo must write us a letter.
2. Where is Chioma’s pen?
3. This is incredible!
4. Ade and I are working on a project.
From the above examples, you should note that every sentence begins with a capital letter as well as
ends with ‘.’, ‘?’, or ‘!’. You should have it in mind that in written form, a sentence begins with a capital
letter and ends with a period (i.e., a full stop ‘.’), a note of interrogation (i.e., a question mark ‘?’), or a
note of exclamation (i.e., an exclamation mark ‘!’.
 Table of contents
1. Basic sentence structure
2. Direct object
 1. Basic sentence structure
From the discussion in previous sections, you should notice that every word in a sentence serves a
specific purpose within the structure of that particular sentence. According to grammatical rule,
sentence structure can sometimes be quite complicated. For the sake of simplicity, however, the basic
parts of a sentence would be further discussed in this section. You should know that the basic parts of
a sentence are the subject and predicate. These parts will be further illustrated in specific terms. We
should start with a subject of a sentence. The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that is
performing the action of the sentence. The subject represents what or whom the sentence is about.
You should also note that the simple subject usually contains a noun or pronoun and can include
modifying words, phrases, or clauses. Examples of words and phrases are; “The Police Officer”…, “The
dog”…, “A Student”…, “They”…, and so on. On the other side of a sentence is the predicate which
expresses action within the sentence. You should note that the simple predicate contains the verb and
can also contain modifying words, phrases, or clauses. This is the part that carries the verb and the
object. The verb in general term is the action of the sentence while the object is whoever or whatever
receives the action. Examples of predicate are as follows. a. The Police Officer/”is very competent.” b.
The dog/”barks till day break.” c. A student/”submitted their assignment yesterday.” d. They/ “are
coming for you.” The subject and predicate make up the two basic structural parts of any complete
sentence. In addition, there are other elements, contained within the subject or predicate, which add
meaning or detail. These elements include the direct object, indirect object, and subject complement.
All of these elements can be expanded and further combined into simple, compound, complex, or
compound/complex sentences, which we shall be discussing in subsequent sections.
 2. Direct object
The direct object receives the action of the sentence. The direct object is usually a noun,
pronoun or noun phrase that is receiving the action of the verb. According to Kit Kittelstad, the
following can best use as a guide, “subject+verb+who or what.” Let us walk through a few more
direct object examples:

Bola beats the boy.

Al-amin loves sitting by the sea.

Omolabi hugged him with all his might.

Let us consider the first example, “Bola beats the boy”. Here, the subject is “Bola” and the verb is
“beats”. What did Bola beat? “The boy”. This is simple enough, right? This is also applicable to other
examples listed above.