Complete and incomplete sentences

Front

What is a complete sentence?

Back

A complete sentence has a subject and a predicate, and it expresses a complete thought.

Front

What is an incomplete sentence?

Back

An incomplete sentence does not express a complete thought and may be missing a subject or predicate.

Front

Example of a complete sentence: 'The cat is sleeping.'

Back

This sentence has a subject ('The cat') and a predicate ('is sleeping').

Front

Example of an incomplete sentence: 'The tall tree.'

Back

This sentence is incomplete because it does not tell us what the tall tree does.

Front

What does a subject in a sentence do?

Back

The subject tells us who or what the sentence is about.

Front

What does a predicate in a sentence do?

Back

The predicate tells us what the subject does or what happens to the subject.

Front

Identify the subject: 'The dog barks.'

Back

The subject is 'The dog'.

Front

Identify the predicate: 'The dog barks.'

Back

The predicate is 'barks'.

Front

Is 'Running fast' a complete sentence?

Back

No, 'Running fast' is an incomplete sentence because it lacks a subject.

Front

Is 'She loves to read books.' a complete sentence?

Back

Yes, it is a complete sentence because it has a subject ('She') and a predicate ('loves to read books').