A complete sentence must contain at least two essential elements: a subject and a predicate.
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Subject: The subject is the person, place, thing, or idea that the sentence is about. It usually answers the question "who" or "what."
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Predicate: The predicate provides information about the subject, typically including a verb that expresses action or state of being. It answers the question "what about the subject?"
In addition to these elements, a complete sentence must also express a complete thought. This means it should not leave the reader hanging or wondering what the intended message is. A complete sentence can stand alone and is often punctuated with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
For example:
- "The cat sleeps." (Subject: "The cat", Predicate: "sleeps")
- "She is reading a book." (Subject: "She", Predicate: "is reading a book")
These sentences are complete because they include both a subject and a predicate, and convey a clear idea.