THE SENTENCE AND ITS ELEMENTS
In the preceding chapters we have seen words as they are used singly. We studied their pronunciation and the way in which they were formed to express a definite meaning. In this chapter we shall begin a review of grammar, a study of words not according to their pronunciation or their definition, but according to their use as they are arranged with other words to express complete ideas. The simplest group into which words are thus arranged is the sentence, consisting of two important parts, the subject and the predicate. The subject is the part about which something is told, and the predicate is the part that tells about the subject; as,
| Subject | Predicate |
| The sun | shines brightly |
There are several different kinds of sentences, named according to the meaning which they express. They are as follows:
The declarative sentence states a fact.
The interrogative sentence asks a question.
The imperative sentence commands or entreats.
The exclamatory sentence expresses deep feeling.
Illustrations
Declarative: John closed the door.
Interrogative: Did John close the door?
Imperative: Close the door.
Exclamatory: What a noise the door made!
Sentences are classified, also, according to their structure or form. If a sentence has one subject and one predicate, it is a simple sentence. If it is made up of two independent parts, it is a compound sentence. If it has one independent part and one or more dependent parts, each of which contains a subject and a predicate of its own, the sentence is complex. The independent part of the sentence is called a principal clause, and the dependent part is called a subordinate clause. A phrase is also a dependent part of a sentence, but it differs from a subordinate clause in that it contains no subject or predicate. Both phrases and subordinate clauses are used as parts of speech, as nouns, adjectives, or adverbs. Thus we have the following definitions:
A simple sentence contains one principal clause.