The English Sentence: Structural and Functional types

What is a sentence?

A sentence is a group of words with a finite verb. The question may then arise: what is a finite verb? In the link below, simple and concise explanation has been provided on the finite verb. 

http://olabanjititles.blogspot.com/2017/10/grammar-point.html?m=1

So, a sentence can be said to be a group of words with a finite verb which begins with a capital letter and ends with a small letter, together with an appropriate punctuation mark which can be a full stop (period), an exclamatory mark, or a question mark. Consider the examples below.

The boy is brilliant. 

The boy is brilliant! 

The boy is brilliant? 

There are two types: structural and functional. 

Structural types of sentence

The structural types include: 

Simple sentence;

Complex sentence;

Compound sentence;

Compound-complex sentence. 

Simple sentence

A simple sentence can also be said to be a clause (a main clause/an independent clause). For example:

i. The boy is brilliant. 

ii. Boys are stubborn. 

iii. Abuja is the capital of Nigeria. 

iv. The accountant was sacked. 

v. He is lazy. 

vi. The students did their assignments. 

When you use a simple sentence, you cannot express more than a single idea or point at a time. 

Please note that, basically, sentences can be positive or negative. All the simple sentences listed above are examples of positive sentences. To express a negative sentence, all you need to do is to add 'not' (it is referred to as negator) after the (auxiliary) verb. 

i. The boy is not brilliant. 

ii. Boys are not stubborn. 

iii. Lagos is not the capital of Nigeria. 

iv. The accountant was not sacked. 

v. He is not lazy. 

vi. The students did not do their assignments. 

Please be reminded that all the six examples above are simple sentences. 

Similarly, the verb in the simple sentences above can be used in the contracted form. What do we mean by contracted form? It is to remove the 'o' in 'not' and introduce an apostrophe in between the 'n' and the 't' so that you have n't. Let's consider the examples below. 

i. The boy isn't brilliant. 

ii. Boys aren't stubborn. 

iii. Lagos isn't the capital of Nigeria. 

iv. The accountant wasn't sacked. 

v. He isn't lazy. 

vi. The students didn't do their assignments. 

Please be reminded that all the six examples above are simple sentences. 

I shall comment elaborately on the use of contractions in a subsequent post. 

Complex sentence

The complex sentence has a main clause (otherwise called independent clause) and at least a subordinate clause (otherwise called dependent clause). The main clause and the subordinate clause are linked together by subordinating conjunctions such as if, because, when, since, though, although, etc. Two simple sentences, for instance, can be linked together by a subordinating conjunction to form a complex sentence. 

i. The accountant was sacked. (Simple sentence)

ii. He is lazy. (Simple sentence)

iii. The accountant was sacked because he is lazy. (Complex sentence)

iv. The  remuneration is good. (Simple sentence)

v. He will accept the job offer. (Simple sentence)

vi. If the remuneration is good, he will accept the job offer. (Complex sentence)

vii. Dele Alli has a Nigerian father. (Simple sentence)

viii. He plays for the English national football team. (Simple sentence)

ix. Although Dele Alli has a Nigerian father, he plays for the English national football team. (Complex sentence)

Please note that a dependent clause could come or be used before (as seen in examples (vi) and (ix) above) or after (as seen in example (iii) above) an independent clause. 

Compound sentence

A compound sentence consists of two main clauses which are linked together by co-ordinating conjunctions such as and, or, but. For instance, two simple sentences can be linked together by a co-ordinating conjunction to form a compound sentence. 

i. Dele Alli has a Nigerian father. (Simple sentence)

ii. He plays for the English national football team. (Simple sentence)

iii. Dele Alli has a Nigerian father but he plays for the English national football team. (Compound sentence)

iv. He is loves music. (Simple sentence)

v. He plays football. (Simple sentence)

vi. He loves music and (he) plays football. (Compound sentence)

Let me quickly comment on the use of co-ordinating conjunction 'and' in the sentence below.

Tyler and Eddie are friends. 

The sentence above is not an instance of a compound sentence. The use of the conjunction 'and' links two (proper) nouns, not main clauses together. In other words, when the conjunction 'and' links two main clauses together, then you have a compound clause. The sentence is thus a simple sentence. Let's consider some other examples:

'And' linking nouns together

i. Bread and tea is usually for breakfast.

ii. I hereby declare you man and wife. 

(I need to stress that the examples above are simple sentences, not compound sentences.)

'And' linking verbs together

i. I washed and rinsed her school uniform. 

ii. They ate and danced all night. 

'And' linking adjectives together

i. He is smart and intelligent. 

ii. He is tall and handsome man. 

Compound-complex sentence

A compound-complex sentence has the features of a compound and complex sentence. Hence, it has at least two main clauses and at least a subordinate clause. 

i. John wrote the examination. (Simple sentence) 

ii. He made distinctions in all his papers. (Simple sentence)

iii. He is writing it for the second time. (Simple sentence)

iv. John wrote the examination and (he) made distinctions in all his papers although he is writing it for the second time. 

v. That boy is too playful. 

vi. He is very brilliant. 

vii. You hardly see him reading.

ix. That boy is too playful but he's very brilliant even though you hardly see him reading. 

It is not uncommon to see some English grammar text mention the multiple sentence. 

Functional types

The functional types are: 

Statement (declarative sentence)

Command/Polite Request (imperative sentence)

Question (interrogative sentence)

Exclamatory sentence. 

Whenever we speak or write, it is any or all of the functional types listed above that we make use of. 

Statement (declarative sentence)

Of the many uses or functions of the statement (declarative sentence), the commonest is to express a thought. Examples include: 

i. Water boils at 100 degrees celsius. 

ii. My favourite subject is English language. 

iii. He did all he could but it was too late. 

(This is an example of a compound sentence.)

iv. His songs are inspiring. 

v. Not all that glitters is gold. 

Command/Polite request (imperative sentence)

It is used to give instructions, which can be polite or impolite, depending on who is giving the instruction. They are sometimes used to issue warnings. 

i. Do not dump refuse here. 

ii. Use the next door. 

iii. Keep in a cool dry place. 

iv. Keep out of the reach of children. 

v. If the condition persists, please consult a doctor. 

vi. Come here.

Question (interrogative sentence)

As students, we ask questions when we are in doubt or when we seek to know something. 

i. What is your name? 

ii. Were you at the ceremony? 

iii. He failed? 

iv. Did you see the TV series last night? 

v. (Have you) Been to Nigeria before?

Exclamatory sentence

One way we express ourselves as humans is to express our emotions or feelings (anger, happiness, surprises) through what we say.

i. It is a goal!

ii. Praise the Lord! 

iii. Will somebody shout hallelujah! 

iv. I can't believe this! It's incredible!

v. Get out of here!

The blogger acknowledges the rights of sentence master as the owner of the slightly modified image that accompanied this post. 

Thank you for reading. The blogger, Olabanji O. Odurombi, can be contacted via text (SMS), WhatsApp or call on 08037699294.