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ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

Lesson 8 – Introducing People: Effective Sentences

Grammar and Capitalization

What Is a In the Organization section of this lesson, you learned that a paragraph is a
Sentence? group of sentences about one topic. How do you know what a sentence is?
Here is a definition.

A sentence is a group of words that contains a subject and a verb
and expresses a complete thought. A sentence begins with a
1
capital letter and ends with a period.

These are sentences:
1. He is a student.
2. It is hot today.
3. He looks tired.
4. Are you hungry?
5. Who's there?
6. Hurry!
7. The man bought a new car.
8. Does your sister live with you?
9. Where did you buy that hat?
10. Don't be late.

These are not sentences:
11. Is very athletic. (There is no subject.)
In some languages, you can leave out a pronoun subject (he, she, it, we, you, and
they) when the meaning is clear without it. English requires a subject in every
sentence. (Exception: See Command Sentences on page 12.)

CORRECTED: He is very athletic.

12. The baby sleepy. (There is no verb.)
In some languages, you can leave out a verb like is or are when the meaning is clear

without it. English requires a verb in every sentence.

CORRECTED: The baby is sleepy.

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