A sentence is a word group that contains a subject and a verb that expresses a complete thought.◦ Britney Spears was a well-known singer.◦ A vampire stalked his victim through the dark

streets of New Orleans.◦ Michael Jackson did not get to perform in his last

tour even though he had worked on it a long time.

The Sentence

A sentence fragment is a word group that looks like a sentence but does not contain a subject and verb or does not express a complete thought.◦ Was a well-known singer. (Who was?)

◦ A vampire stalked his victim through. (through what?)

◦ Even though he had worked on it a long time. (he…? What happened?)

Sentence Fragment

There are four types of sentences.◦ Declarative ◦ Imperative◦ Interrogative◦ Exclamatory

Sentence Types

Makes a statement and ends with a period.◦ Example: I really like pie.

I made a statement about pie, or, I declared to the world my thoughts. When you ‘declare’, it is always with a period.

Period: Declarative Sentence

Gives a command or makes a request. Most imperative sentences end with a period. A strong command might end with an exclamation point.◦ Example: John, please close the door.

I have requested or ‘kindly commanded’ John to do something. It is punctuated with a period.

◦ Example: Do your homework. I have commanded a task be done.

◦ Stop her! A strong command can be ended with a !

Period: Imperative Sentence

Asks a question and ends with a question mark. (Think of an interrogation room…they are used for questioning suspects.)◦ Example: What do you know about aliens?

Was the game exciting? Where were you on the night of August 15th?

Question Mark: Interrogative Sentence

Shows excitement or strong feeling and ends with an exclamation point.◦ Example: You’ve just won a trip to Disneyland!

What a beautiful sunset! Our notes are over!

Exclamation Point: Exclamatory Sentence

End Marks . ! ?

Use at the end of a sentence.◦I like pie.

◦Other uses of a period: Use after an initial.

J.K. Rowling

◦ Use after an abbreviation etc.

◦ Use as a decimal point 3.1

◦ Use to separate dollars from cents $3.41

Period .

Use to show:◦ Strong emotion◦ Anger◦ Shock◦ Excitement◦ Fear

Use with interjections:◦ Wow! That was cool!◦ Oh no! I dropped my wig!

**Unacceptable to use more than one exclamation point in formal writing!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Exclamation Point !

Use at the end of a question.◦ Don’t you love taking notes?

Use at the end of a declarative statement to indicate disbelief.◦ She’s our new teacher. (declarative statement)◦ She’s our new teacher?(declarative disbelief)

Other uses of the question mark: Use with parentheses to show you are unsure of the

spelling of a certain word. I have to visit the orthopedic(?) surgeon.

Question Mark ?