Overview

A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. The two basic parts of every sentence are the subject and the predicate. A simple subject or predicate consists of only the main subject (main noun or pronoun) or predicate (main verb), whereas a complete subject or predicate includes all of the modifiers, such as adjectives and adverbs, that expand the meaning of the subject or predicate. A compound subject or predicate has a conjunction joining the two or more simple subjects or predicates in the sentence.

Most sentences in English begin with subjects, followed by the predicates. However, when a request is made or a command is given, the subject is usually not stated, so the sentence usually begins with a verb. Questions also frequently begin with verbs or with the words who, whom, what, when, where, why, and how. In a sentence written in inverted order, the predicate comes before the subject.

A complement is a word or group of words that completes the meaning of a verb, adding more information to the sentence. There are four types of complements: direct objects, indirect objects, object complements, and subject complements.