SENTENCE

a. It has a subject (noun) and a predicate (what the subject has or does).

b. The sentence must make sense.

c. Start with a capital letter.

d. End with a full stop (.) or other punctuation marks such as question mark (?) or exclamation mark (!).

For example:

a. Use a full stop (.) at the end of a declarative sentence.

For example:

- Tomorrow early morning first I go to morning walk. <-- (full stop)

- I and my sister don't see each other anymore. <-- (full stop)

- George brushes his teeth twice a day. <-- (full stop)

- I hope you can come tomorrow. <-- (full stop)

b. Do not use a question mark (?). 

For example:

- Tomorrow early morning first I go to morning walk? <-- (wrong)

- I and my sister don't see each other anymore? <-- (wrong)

- George brushes his teeth twice a day? <-- (wrong)

- I hope you can come tomorrow? <-- (wrong)

c. Do not use an exclamation mark (!). 

For example:

- Tomorrow early morning first I go to morning walk! <-- (wrong)

- I and my sister don't see each other anymore! <-- (wrong)

- George brushes his teeth twice a day! <-- (wrong)

- I hope you can come tomorrow! <-- (wrong)

a. To give advice / suggestions

For example:

- Brush your teeth before you go to bed.

- Clean your room to avoid an infestation of cockroaches.

- Consider the red dress.

- Wear your face mask.

b. To give directions

For example:

- Walk straight and turn left.

- Go past the cinema.

- It’s about two blocks from here.

c. To give orders / commands

For example:

- Do not make noises in the library.

- Complete these by tomorrow.

- Move out of my way!

- Clean your room.

d. To make requests

For example:

- Please turn off the fan.

- Could you please shut the front door?

- Find my leather jacket.

- Please submit your homework.

An independent sentence can stand on its own in a sentence to give complete thought.

A dependent clause cannot stand on its own but needs additional information to give complete thought in a sentence.

An independent clause can be joined to a dependent clause using:

a. who, which, where, whose or whom

For example:

i. Amin decided to buy the baseball cap which he had seen in the shop.

- Independent clause: Amin decided to buy the baseball cap.

- Dependent clause: Which he had seen in the shop.

b. since, before, when, although, if, unless, because or while

For example:

i. Before leaving for his hometown, Mr. Lim checked his car.

- Dependent clause: Before leaving for his hometown,

- Independent clause: Mr. Lim checked his car.

ii. She will be sick unless she stops eating.

- Dependent clause: She will be sick

- Independent clause: unless she stop eating.