How to Write a Sentence

This article was co-authored by Megan Morgan, PhD. Megan Morgan is a Graduate Program Academic Advisor in the School of Public & International Affairs at the University of Georgia. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Georgia in 2015.

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A well-written sentence is the foundation for both good writing and good written communication. There are several rules, as well as types of sentences, that a writer needs to be aware of in order to excel at writing, however. Once you have a grasp of the basic aspects of sentence writing, you will be on your way to becoming a great writer.

Knowing the Basics Before Writing

• For example, "Eggs near river" is not a sentence because it does not express a complete idea.
• "I ate eggs near a river yesterday" is a sentence because it has a clear, complete meaning.
• "Because I ate eggs" is a sentence fragment because it is incomplete; "because" sets the reader up for a cause-and-effect, but there is no effect here.
• "Because I ate eggs near a river, I got wet" is a sentence because it completes the cause-and-effect established by the word "because."

• An exclamation mark indicates surprise, whereas a question mark indicates confusion or questioning.

• For example, in the sentence "I ate eggs", "I" is the subject and "ate" is the verb.

Writing Simple Sentences

• In the above example, the subject is "Janet". She is the person being discussed.
• "Writes" is the verb. It is the action that the subject (Janet) is doing.
• Remember, the subject can be a person (I or Janet), place (Baltimore or Bathroom), thing (Chocolate), or idea (Jealousy). [3] X Research source

• The phrase "romance novels" is the direct object here: they are what Janet writes, so they receive the action of the verb.
• Simple sentences can also have compound subjects or compound verbs.
  • A compound subject could look like this: "Janet and Sujata write romance novels." "Janet and Sujata" is a compound subject here, since there are two people doing the action.
  • A compound verb could look like this: "Janet writes and publishes romance novels." Janet is doing two things here, writing and publishing, so this is a compound verb.

  

  Try writing a simple sentence. When you begin to write your own simple sentence, begin with the subject. Think about what the sentence is going to be about. Next, choose your verb. To do this, think about what the subject of your sentence is doing. Is the subject walking, running, reading, sitting, cooking, or something else?

  

  • A singular subject and verb looks like this: "My son is a doctor".
  • A plural subject and verb looks like this: "My sons are doctors".
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  Writing Compound Sentences

  

  • He was happy, for he just passed his exam.
  • The road was long, and we could not see the end.
  • She was not wrong, nor was she entirely right.
  • She would have fallen, but Sally helped support her.
  • Deon is smart, or Deon is lucky.
  • I am eating steak, yet I really wanted lamb.
  • Jack was wet, so he changed his clothes.

  

  • You may want to use "and" to express a continuing thought or meaning, or you can use "but" as part of an explanation. There are many possibilities.

  

  • Be careful not to overuse compound sentences, particularly those that use "and." They do not always indicate a clear relationship and may seem cluttered. [4] X Research source
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  Writing Complex Sentences

  

  • Examples of subordinating conjunctions are as follows: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while. [6] X Research source
  • Examples of dependent clauses by themselves are as follows: "Because Yao shares his books", "Before eating my breakfast" and "Until I have more money".

  

  • Because Yao shares his books, he is kind. -or- Yao is kind because he shares his books.
  • Before eating my breakfast, I have to walk my dog. -or- I have to walk my dog before eating breakfast.
  • Until I have more money, I won't be able to buy an engagement ring. -or- I won't be able to buy an engagement ring until I have more money.

  

  Try writing a complex sentence. When writing a complex sentence, you need to combine one simple sentence with a dependent clause. Make sure you use the dependent clause to clarify what is happening in the simple sentence.

  

  Use complex sentences to better explain your thoughts. Complex sentences are useful because they often show a clear and specific relationship between the parts of the sentence. For instance, "before" tells readers that the dog needs to be walked prior to eating breakfast; "because" helps to explain why Yao is kind.

  

  • Periodic sentences are great for building up tension or interest, since the dependent clause "builds up" to the meaning or complete thought at the end.
  • For example: "As I sat waiting in traffic, I realized I would be late for class."
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  Avoiding Common Mistakes

  

  • "Although I was late to the party." The "although" here is what's known as a subordinating conjunction, and it creates a subordinate clause, which cannot stand on its own. [9] X Research source This is a fragment because it does not provide a complete thought; there's meaning here that isn't explained (Although. what?).
  • "Hit something with my car." While you might use type of language in everyday speech, it's technically a fragment because it lacks a subject (who did the hitting). You could correct it as "I hit something with my car."

  

  • For example, this is a run-on sentence: "I went to the store I got bread and milk." Each of the parts, I went to the store and I got bread and milk have a subject and verb, and each expresses a clear, complete idea.
  • You can fix run-ons in a few ways. You can separate the clauses with a semicolon, or you can use a comma and a conjunction, or you can break the clauses up into separate sentences:
    • I went to the store; I got bread and milk. The semi-colon shows the close relationship between clauses here.
    • I went to the store, and I got bread and milk. This conjunction shows less of a close relationship than the semi-colon, but it communicates that they're connected ideas.
    • I went to the store. I got bread and milk. This full break indicates that the ideas aren't all that related.

    

    • For example, this is a comma splice: "I texted my friend, she didn't reply."
      • Both of these are independent clauses, because they have subjects and verbs and express a complete thought.
      • With a semi-colon: "I texted my friend; she didn't reply."
      • With a comma and coordinating conjunction: "I texted my friend, but she didn't reply."
      • By splitting into two sentences: "I texted my friend. She didn't reply."

      

      • For example, this sentence lacks parallel structure: "I enjoy fishing, swimming, and hike."
        • Instead, keep all the verbs in the same form: "I enjoy fishing, swimming, and hiking."
        • Instead, keep all the clauses in the same structure: "My teacher told me that I should submit my essay on time, that I should proofread it carefully before turning it in, and that I should not email her the night before."

        

        • For example, consider how repetitive this is: "I saw a zombie. I started to run. I tripped over a rock. I got up again. I kept running." All of the sentences have the same word order (subject-verb-direct object) and begin with the same subject.
        • Now look at a spiced-up version: "I saw a zombie and started to run, but I tripped over a rock. Panicked, I picked myself up and kept running."
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        Practice Sentences and Answers

        Community Q&A

        I need more information on how to expand my mind to create ideas on how to write longer and stay on topic.

        Community Answer

        My biggest suggestion for expanding your writing while staying on topic is to add detail. Rather than stating bland nouns (apple), add adjectives (fresh, red apple). Similarly, you can do this with verbs (running briskly). On a grander scale though, extra sentences just need to enhance the main topic with details about the setting, characters, etc.

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        I struggle with putting everything together to make an essay or a story. I get the writing and brainstorming, just not the stitching it all together.

        Community Answer

        It's possible you're having difficulty deciding what point you are trying to make. This is one of the most difficult parts of writing. Decide exactly what you mean and sometimes this means taking more time than you would like in order to research and think your topic through. Sometimes it helps to talk to someone (anyone willing to listen) about what you hope to convey in your story or essay. They may be able to point out what does not make sense to them or ask useful questions. Or, try writing each sentence on an index card and move them around rather than using a word processing program.

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        I need more help with complex sentences and dependent/independent clauses. Community Answer

        A complex sentence is a sentence with one or more dependent clauses. For example, "John, who is my grandson, does not write anymore". The dependent clause in this sentence is "who is my grandson".

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