Sentences

Sentences

To speak to somebody or to write something we use different groups of words. Such a meaningful group of words is a sentence.

Read the following groups of words:

(a)   Playing the have in.

(b)  A book is Luna read.

(c)   The boys are playing.

(d)  Luna is reading a book.

Group (a) and (b) are jumbled and they do not express any idea. So these are not sentences. But group (c) and (d) express ideas of the speaker. Therefore, a group of words which make a complete sense is called a sentence.

Sentences are of five kinds according to their meaning/ expression.

A.      Assertive Sentence

B.      Interrogative Sentence

C.       Imperative Sentence

D.      Optative Sentence

E.      Exclamatory Sentence

Assertive Sentence:

The sentences which state or assert something are called Assertive Sentences.

a.       Shafi is drawing a picture.

b.       Sometimes he plays on his flute.

c.       He doesn’t waste time.

d.       He speaks English well.

Interrogative Sentence:

The sentences which ask somebody about something, are called Interrogative Sentences.

a.       Aren’t you a student?

b.       Hasn’t Ashrafi done the work?

c.       Who are you?

d.       How will you cross the canal?

Imperative Sentence:

The sentence which expresses a command or order or request or advice is called an Imperative Sentence.

a.       Please come to the class earlier.

b.       Go home at once.

c.       Never tell a lie.

d.       Don’t run in the sun.

e.       Let us play in the field.

f.        March forward.

Optative Sentence:

The sentence which expresses wish, desire or blessing is called an Optative Sentence.

a.       May you live long.

b.       May his soul rest in peace.

c.       Long live Bangladesh.

d.       God save our president.

Exclamatory Sentence:

The sentence that expresses joy, sorrow, wonder, sudden feeling or emotion is called an Exclamatory Sentence.

What a nice student you are!

How bright the stars are!

What a terrible sight!

What a piece of work is man!

Alas! We have lost the game.

All the five classes of Sentences have both affirmative and negative forms. They are:

Kinds of Sentence		Examples
Assertive	Affirmative	Hena writes a letter.
	Negative	Rina does not write a letter.
Interrogative	Affirmative	Do you prefer milk to tea?
	Negative	Who doesn’t like a flower?
Imperative	Affirmative	Always speak the truth.
	Negative	Never tell a lie.
Optative	Affirmative	May God grant you a long life.
	Negative	May you not be cursed.
Exclamatory	Affirmative	How fine the rose is!
	Negative	If I were not there! Fie! He does not respect his teacher. Alas! He is no more.

                                                                                          Exercise:       

Of what kinds are the following sentences ? Write against each sentence:

a.       Have you ever been to Cox’s Bazar?

b.       How strong he is!

c.       Do not despair.

d.       Please do the needful.

e.       Never have I seen such a thing.

f.        What a pity!

g.       Hurrah! We have won.

h.       O. What a fine bird it is!

i.         Long live our gracious president.

j.         There was once a white elephant.

k.       Forward the light Brigade, charge for the guns.

l.         May my parents live in peace.

m.    Let us play in the field.

n.       Oh dear, I feel so ill.

o.       We walk in the morning.

Sentence is of three types according to its form/ structure/ construction. They are:

A.      Simple Sentence

B.      Compound Sentence

C.       Complex Sentence

To understand these types of sentences we need to study about Clause.

Clauses:  clauses are groups of words that form sentences. A clause must contain a subject  and a verb.

There are two types of clauses :

o   Independent/ Main clause: express a complete idea, i.e. a sentence , and makes sence all by itself.

If he came, he will go.
    SC               MC

o   Dependent / Subordinate clause: does not express a complete idea, it is a part sentence, and does not make sense by itself).

Subordinate clause begin with a subordinating conjunction, e.g. who, when, while, that, because, since, although.

The company grew quickly while the economy was good.

In this sentence-

The company grew quickly- independent clause(complete sentence)

while the economy was good. Dependent clause with subordinating conjunction.

Simple Sentence:

The sentence which has only one clause is called a Simple Sentence.

a.       Nadia is in class nine.

S            FV

b.       Returning from school, they play in the dawn.

                                               S         FV

c.       Both Nadia and Jhalak  are good stuents.

                     S                        FV

d.       They like to play after school.

S           FV

Compound Sentence:

The sentence which has more than one independent clauses and connected with co-ordinating  or co-relative conjunctions ( and, or, but, yet, both . .. . . and, not only . . . . . but also, either . . . . . or, neither . . . . . . nor, otherwise, therefore, on the contrary etc.) is called a Compound Sentence.

a.       The man is rich but not happy.

b.       He is poor but honest.

c.       The boy came here and returned home at once.

d.       Rabindranath is not only a poet but also a dramatist.

e.       Nazrul was both a poet and a dramatist.

f.        Read regularly or you will not do well in the examination.

g.       I always help you, on the contrary, you work against me.

h.       Neither Rahim nor his brothers are working here.

i.         I know you spoke against me, yet I am not angry with you.

Complex Sentence:

The sentence which has one principal clause and one or more subordinate clause is called a Complex Sentence. The clauses are connected with a subordinate conjunction (that, when, why, who, which, where, how, if, whether, because, as, though, until, unless, before, after etc.).

a.       We know when he will come.

b.       They returned home after the sun had set.

c.       He cannot come because he is ill.

d.       Wait here until I come back.

e.       Tell me the way how you did it.

f.        I know the reason why he said so.

g.       You cannot succeed if you do not work hard.

                                                                                          Exercise:

Read the following passage carefully and identify three forms of sentences:

Bangladesh is an agricultural country. She depends on agriculture for her economic development. As her economy depends on agriculture, we should lay emphasis on agriculture. We have to develop cultivation scientifically because scientific method of cultivation can ensure more production. For this purpose we have to identify the problems that our farmers face. They are not only illiterate but also ignorant. They are both deprived and neglected. Though they work hard, they do not get what they deserve. They cannot improve their condition but they work from morning till dusk. They live in want and cannot maintain the family decently. Having worked for whole life, they die in hunger and poverty. It is really a great pity. Some farmers have neither land of their own nor good house to live in. They pass their days in miseries. They plough the land of others and take the share of crops. Thus they maintain the family. The landless farmers also work as day labourers. They earn more by working hard during sowing or harvesting season. Some steps have been taken to improve the condition of our farmers. More should be done in this regard; otherwise the country will not develop rapidly. We must remember that the development of the farmers means the prosperity of the country. The other important thing is industrialization which will create job opportunities. So emphasis should be given to industrialization for attaining economic development.