Sentence
noun
A set of words that form a complete thought or idea.
This is an example of a sentence.
Often appears as...
- compound sentence
- complex sentence
noun
In law, a punishment given by a judge in court to a person found guilty of a crime.
The judge gave him a sentence of five years in prison.
Often appears as...
- life sentence
- prison sentence
Usage tips
Disapproving
verb
To declare the punishment decided for a person found guilty of a crime.
The court sentenced him to ten years in prison.
Often appears as...
- sentence to death
- sentence to life
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
A short text used in language studies for discussions, translations, or other exercises.
Translate the following sentences into Spanish.
Often appears as...
- example sentence
- study sentence
Usage tips
Academic
noun
A set of words that form a complete thought or idea.
This is an example of a sentence.
Often appears as...
- compound sentence
- complex sentence
noun
In law, a punishment given by a judge in court to a person found guilty of a crime.
The judge gave him a sentence of five years in prison.
Often appears as...
- life sentence
- prison sentence
Usage tips
Disapproving
verb
To declare the punishment decided for a person found guilty of a crime.
The court sentenced him to ten years in prison.
Often appears as...
- sentence to death
- sentence to life
Usage tips
Disapproving
noun
A short text used in language studies for discussions, translations, or other exercises.
Translate the following sentences into Spanish.
Often appears as...
- example sentence
- study sentence
Usage tips
Academic
Definition 1 of 4
Pro Tip 1/2Complete Thought
Make sure your sentence has a subject and a verb to express a complete idea.
She dances.
Pro Tip 2/2Punctuation Marks
A sentence should always start with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark.
I am learning English.
Pro Tip 1/2Complete Thought
Make sure your sentence has a subject and a verb to express a complete idea.
She dances.
Pro Tip 2/2Punctuation Marks
A sentence should always start with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark.
I am learning English.
Pro Tip 1/2Complete Thought
Make sure your sentence has a subject and a verb to express a complete idea.
She dances.
Pro Tip 2/2Punctuation Marks
A sentence should always start with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark.
I am learning English.
Never forget "Sentence"
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Video examples
The Atlantic slave...
By selling them, kings enriched their own realms, and strengthened them against neighboring enemies. African kingdoms prospered from the slave trade, but meeting the European's massive demand created intense competition. Slavery replaced other criminal sentences, and capturing slaves became a motivation for war,
Video examples
Blueprint for a quiet...
cause introverts to flee to a shack in the woods it empowers them to embrace the world but to do it for the first time on their own terms now ironically these stories had the same effect on me I found myself every morning with my laptop thinking about all these souls and writing not the first sentences of
Video examples
Tim Urban: Inside the...
like how someone like me could spend two weeks unable to start the opening sentence of a paper, and then miraculously find the unbelievable work ethic to stay up all night and write eight pages. And this entire situation, with the three characters -- this is the procrastinator's system.
Video examples
When to use apostrophes...
Most of the time, if you see an apostrophe hovering helpfully near a word, it's trying to mark possession or contraction. First, let's look at how the apostrophe marks possession. As you can see, the placement of this punctuation mark can really change the meaning of a sentence.
Video examples
How misused modifiers...
that add information about other parts of a sentence, which is usually helpful. But when modifiers aren't linked clearly enough to the words they're actually referring to, they can create unintentional ambiguity. That happens because the modifying words,
Video examples
Prison Victim PIPE National...
20-year sentence but in prison crimes against children are the most despised even though I didn't do those things that they said I did you know it's still a crime involving a child and then you got a lot of people around here who just
Video examples
Plato’s Allegory of the...
of what it's like to be a philosopher trying to educate the public. Most people are not just comfortable in their ignorance but hostile to anyone who points it out. In fact, the real life Socrates was sentenced to death
Video examples
Buffalo buffalo buffalo:...
though it helps to add in a few implied phrases and punctuation marks to reveal what's really going on. Buffalo buffalo are bison from the city of Buffalo, and this sentence has three groups of them.
Video examples
How to write descriptivel...
taste, smell, touch, hearing, sight, and the sense of motion. It also plays with our ability to abstract and make complex associations. Look at the following sentence. "The world was ghost-quiet,
Video examples
Crabs Trade Shells in...
To be left without a shell is a death sentence. A naked crab will quickly cook under the intense tropical sun.
Video examples
The Atlantic slave...
By selling them, kings enriched their own realms, and strengthened them against neighboring enemies. African kingdoms prospered from the slave trade, but meeting the European's massive demand created intense competition. Slavery replaced other criminal sentences, and capturing slaves became a motivation for war,
Video examples
Blueprint for a quiet...
cause introverts to flee to a shack in the woods it empowers them to embrace the world but to do it for the first time on their own terms now ironically these stories had the same effect on me I found myself every morning with my laptop thinking about all these souls and writing not the first sentences of
Video examples
Tim Urban: Inside the...
like how someone like me could spend two weeks unable to start the opening sentence of a paper, and then miraculously find the unbelievable work ethic to stay up all night and write eight pages. And this entire situation, with the three characters -- this is the procrastinator's system.
Video examples
When to use apostrophes...
Most of the time, if you see an apostrophe hovering helpfully near a word, it's trying to mark possession or contraction. First, let's look at how the apostrophe marks possession. As you can see, the placement of this punctuation mark can really change the meaning of a sentence.
Video examples
How misused modifiers...
that add information about other parts of a sentence, which is usually helpful. But when modifiers aren't linked clearly enough to the words they're actually referring to, they can create unintentional ambiguity. That happens because the modifying words,
Video examples
Prison Victim PIPE National...
20-year sentence but in prison crimes against children are the most despised even though I didn't do those things that they said I did you know it's still a crime involving a child and then you got a lot of people around here who just
Video examples
Plato’s Allegory of the...
of what it's like to be a philosopher trying to educate the public. Most people are not just comfortable in their ignorance but hostile to anyone who points it out. In fact, the real life Socrates was sentenced to death
Video examples
Buffalo buffalo buffalo:...
though it helps to add in a few implied phrases and punctuation marks to reveal what's really going on. Buffalo buffalo are bison from the city of Buffalo, and this sentence has three groups of them.
Video examples
How to write descriptivel...
taste, smell, touch, hearing, sight, and the sense of motion. It also plays with our ability to abstract and make complex associations. Look at the following sentence. "The world was ghost-quiet,
Video examples
Crabs Trade Shells in...
To be left without a shell is a death sentence. A naked crab will quickly cook under the intense tropical sun.
Example 1 of 10
Quote examples
John Irving
American Novelist
And I don't want to begin something, I don't want to write that first sentence until all the important connections in the novel are known to me. As if the story has already taken place, and it's my responsibility to put it in the right order to tell it to you.
Quote examples
Jhumpa Lahiri
American Author
I can't tell you exactly how I found it. It was just a process of writing a lot of stories and reading a lot of stories that I admired and just working and working until the sentences sounded right and I was satisfied with them.
Quote examples
Garth Risk Hallberg
American Author
The writing that feels the best to me, I experience sometimes, is a kind of weirdly deep listening - like, it feels like if you just listen hard enough, the next sentence will tell you what it needs to be.
Quote examples
Robert Kennedy
American Politician
I am deeply impressed with the gravity and wisdom with which most federal judges approach the responsibility of sentencing. It is a difficult, soul-searching task at best.
Quote examples
John Banville
Irish Novelist
When you're writing there's a deep, deep level of concentration way below your normal self. This strange voice, these strange sentences come out of you.
Quote examples
Jenny Shipley
New Zealander Statesman
I was brought up in a family of leaders, and I think leadership is a life sentence. I like changing things that will shape the future.
Quote examples
Jean Rostand
French Scientist
I still understand a few words in life, but I no longer think they make a sentence.
Quote examples
Karen Bender
American Novelist
Fall into your sentences; enjoy writing them. Love the world you are creating.
Quote examples
Dana Spiotta
American Author
I like the challenge of creating a world with only sentences.
Quote examples
Gaston Bachelard
French Philosopher
The words of the world want to make sentences.
Quote examples
John Irving
American Novelist
And I don't want to begin something, I don't want to write that first sentence until all the important connections in the novel are known to me. As if the story has already taken place, and it's my responsibility to put it in the right order to tell it to you.
Quote examples
Jhumpa Lahiri
American Author
I can't tell you exactly how I found it. It was just a process of writing a lot of stories and reading a lot of stories that I admired and just working and working until the sentences sounded right and I was satisfied with them.
Quote examples
Garth Risk Hallberg
American Author
The writing that feels the best to me, I experience sometimes, is a kind of weirdly deep listening - like, it feels like if you just listen hard enough, the next sentence will tell you what it needs to be.
Quote examples
Robert Kennedy
American Politician
I am deeply impressed with the gravity and wisdom with which most federal judges approach the responsibility of sentencing. It is a difficult, soul-searching task at best.
Quote examples
John Banville
Irish Novelist
When you're writing there's a deep, deep level of concentration way below your normal self. This strange voice, these strange sentences come out of you.
Quote examples
Jenny Shipley
New Zealander Statesman
I was brought up in a family of leaders, and I think leadership is a life sentence. I like changing things that will shape the future.
Quote examples
Jean Rostand
French Scientist
I still understand a few words in life, but I no longer think they make a sentence.
Quote examples
Karen Bender
American Novelist
Fall into your sentences; enjoy writing them. Love the world you are creating.
Quote examples
Dana Spiotta
American Author
I like the challenge of creating a world with only sentences.
Quote examples
Gaston Bachelard
French Philosopher
The words of the world want to make sentences.
Example 1 of 10
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