Download Five Parts of a Complete Sentence

Writing complete sentences and using
complete sentences is important for
earning good grades, expressing ideas,
and communicating clearly.
Today's professionals rely more
heavily on writing than in the past due
to the increasing relevancy of e-mail.
Complete sentences allow business
people to maintain a professional
demeanor when e-mailing colleagues,
clients, and customers. Complete
sentences are a crucial component of
business writing.


Without complete sentences, students earn
lower marks and may become frustrated when
teachers, parents and friends don't understand
the ideas they are trying to express. Complete
sentences are absolutely necessary to earn good
grades on book reports and essays. Complete
sentences are also essential to crafting effective
college admission essays.
From elementary school onward, knowing how
to write a complete sentence is an essential
academic, personal, and professional skill.
Capital letter
Subject
Predicate
Complete thought
Terminal Punctuation

The first word of a complete
sentence must start with a capital
letter. Even if a sentence has the
other four requirements: subject,
predicate, complete thought, and
terminal punctuation -- it still will
not be a complete sentence without a
capital letter at the very beginning.



The subject of a complete sentence is who or what the
sentence is about. The subject performs the action, if
there is any, in a sentence.
The subject of a sentence is always a noun or a
pronoun, however, it is important to note that while
the subject is always a noun or pronoun, a noun or
pronoun is not always the subject. Nouns and
pronouns can be direct objects, indirect objects, or the
objects of a preposition.
Traditionally, although not always, the subject is the
noun or pronoun closest to the beginning of the
sentence.
Went to the store.
Drove very quickly.
Under the stairs.



The predicate of a complete sentence is the action
or what is going on in the sentence.
The predicate of a sentence is always a verb,
however, it is important to note that while the
predicate is always a verb, every verb is not the
predicate of a complete sentence. The predicate is
the main action of the sentence.
Keep linking verbs in mind: am, are, is, was, were.
Linking verbs can be the predicate of a complete
sentence.



The red car (drove) quickly.
(We are having a) Great day today.
Dress patterns (are) neat and beautiful
A sentence is incomplete if it does not contain a
complete thought.
"The car drove." is an example of an incomplete
sentence because it does not contain a main idea.
This example contains a subject - car, a predicate
- drove, a capital letter, and terminal
punctuation, but without the essential complete
thought it is not a complete sentence.
A complete thought can also be thought of as a
main idea or logical conclusion. The phrase "I
want" begs the question, I want what? This
sentence fragment, again, lacks a complete
thought and is illogical.
Other examples of sentence fragments lacking
complete thoughts:
I gave him.
She received the entire.
Live like crazy.





A complete sentence is not complete without
terminal punctuation.
There are three types of terminal punctuation:
Period
Question Mark
Exclamation Point