Overview

The different parts of speech are combined to make sentences. A sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought. A complete sentence must include a subject, the part of the sentence about which someone or something is being said, and a predicate, the part of the sentence that says something about the subject. Simple subjects and predicates consist only of main subjects (main nouns or pronouns) and predicates (main verbs), whereas complete subjects and predicates include modifiers, such as adjectives and adverbs, which expand the meaning of the subjects and predicates.

Most sentences in English begin with the subject, followed by the predicate. However, when a request is made or a command is given, the subject is not always stated, so the sentence may begin with a verb, as in: Go to your room! A question also can begin with a verb or with the word who, whom, what, when, where, why, or how.

A complement is a word or group of words that completes the meaning of a verb, adding more information to the sentence. There are four types of complements: direct objects, indirect objects, object complements, and subject complements.