Meaning & use
sentence
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A group of words that makes a complete statement, question, or command, usually with a subject and a verb.
Grammar: Countable: one sentence, two sentences; begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point.
Patterns
- write a sentence
- a complete sentence
- in a sentence
- sentence about something
The teacher asked us to write a sentence using the new word.
That sentence is too long; please break it into two.
Every sentence in the paragraph starts with the same phrase.
nouncountablelegallaw
The punishment that a court officially orders for someone found guilty of a crime.
Grammar: Countable and often used with words like heavy, light, or a length of time: a five-year sentence.
Patterns
- a sentence of X years
- serve a sentence
- a heavy sentence
- receive a sentence
He is serving a ten-year sentence for fraud.
The judge gave her a lighter sentence because she cooperated.
After the sentence was announced, the family left the court quietly.
verbtransitivelegallaw
To officially state in court what punishment a guilty person will receive.
Grammar: Takes an object: sentence someone. Often used in the passive: he was sentenced to prison.
Patterns
- sentence someone to something
- be sentenced to X years
- sentence someone for a crime
The court sentenced him to two years in prison.
She was sentenced to community service for the theft.
Judges here can sentence young offenders to a training program instead.
Word forms
| plural | sentences |
|---|---|
| third person singular | sentences |
| past tense | sentenced |
| past participle | sentenced |
| -ing form | sentencing |
Common combinations
- complete sentence
- A complete sentence needs at least a subject and a verb.
- topic sentence
- Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that states the main idea.
- serve a sentence
- He served his sentence and was released last spring.
- death sentence
- In some countries, murder can carry a death sentence.
- sentence someone to
- The judge sentenced the driver to six months in jail.
Synonyms and how they differ
- statement
- A statement is any single remark or declaration, while a sentence is a grammatical unit that may or may not state a fact.
- phrase
- A phrase is a small group of words without a full subject and verb, so it is shorter and less complete than a sentence.
- ruling
- A ruling is a judge's decision on a legal question; a sentence is specifically the punishment given to a convicted person.
Word family
- sentencing noun
- The legal process or hearing in which a punishment is decided.
- sentential adjective
- Relating to a sentence, especially in grammar.
Commonly confused: sentence or phrase?
sentence vs phrase
A phrase is a group of words that does not express a complete thought, while a sentence normally does and includes a subject and verb.
Practice
The judge decided to ______ the thief to three years in prison.
Choose one answer.
After 'to' we need the base form of the verb, so 'sentence' is correct. 'Sentenced' is the past tense and cannot follow 'to' here, and 'sentencing' would be the -ing form, which does not fit after 'decided to'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sentence”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.