sentences
Periods end them
Sentences is the plural of sentence—a grammatical unit expressing a complete thought, or a punishment imposed by a court.
Someone sentences another when imposing that punishment: The judge sentences repeat offenders harshly.
In everyday use, sentences usually means the written or spoken kind: These sentences are too long.
He serves two consecutive sentences for armed robbery.
Rules for arranging words
- clauseProvision in agreement
- subjectMatter under discussion
- predicateSentence's non-subject portion
- objectTangible entity or aim
phrase · verb · noun · adjective · adverb · preposition · conjunction · complement
Confinement in jail
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- convictionFirmly held belief
- verdictOfficial court decision
- paroleConditional early release
probation · commutation · life · death · mandatory · concurrent · consecutive · suspended
Stating rather than asking
- interrogativeAsking in nature
- exclamatoryExpressing strong feeling
- imperativeUnavoidably necessary
- simpleFree of complexity
compound · complex · compound-complex · conditional · passive · active · inverted · rhetorical
Distinct section of text
- proseUnversified language
- narrativeAccount of events
- thesisAcademic argument requiring defense
- supportingBearing or sustaining
concluding · transition · flow · coherence · clarity · structure · construction · phrasing
Expressed claim or fact
- utteranceSpoken expression aloud
- remarkSpoken comment or note
- declarationFormal public announcement
- pronouncementFormal authoritative statement
assertion · expression · message · quote · dictum · maxim · aphorism · motto
syntax
Rules for arranging words
object · phrase · verb · noun · adjective · adverb · preposition · conjunction · complement · participle
incarceration
Confinement in jail
- imprisonmentLegal detention in jail
- convictionFirmly held belief
- verdictOfficial court decision
parole · probation · commutation · life · death · mandatory · concurrent · consecutive · suspended · reduced
declarative
Stating rather than asking
- interrogativeAsking in nature
- exclamatoryExpressing strong feeling
- imperativeUnavoidably necessary
simple · compound · complex · compound-complex · conditional · passive · active · inverted · rhetorical · topic
paragraph
Distinct section of text
supporting · concluding · transition · flow · coherence · clarity · structure · construction · phrasing · wording
statement
Expressed claim or fact
- utteranceSpoken expression aloud
- remarkSpoken comment or note
- declarationFormal public announcement
pronouncement · assertion · expression · message · quote · dictum · maxim · aphorism · motto · slogan
- languagelanguage, word, words, grammar, spelling
- English grammarnouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns
- language artsreading comprehension, grammar rules, vocabulary building, phonics, spelling bees
- legallawyer, judge, jury, trial, verdict
- prisonsprison, inmates, cells, prisons, prisoner
- punishespunishes, penalizes, disciplines, chastises, castigates
sentencesfragments
Incomplete broken pieces
incomplete sentences · sentence fragments · phrases · clauses · run-ons
sentencesacquits
Declares legally innocent
acquittals · exonerates · exonerations · pardons · absolves
- death sentenceJudicial order of execution
- life sentenceImprisonment without release
- prison sentenceMandated period of incarceration
- concurrent sentencesOverlapping punishment periods
- sentencing lawsStatutes governing criminal penalties
- complete sentence
sentence, sentenced, sentencing, sentencings, resentenced, presentencing