A Sentence Tells a Whole Idea

Look at these words

Read this group of words.

“a big yellow bus”

You can picture the bus. But something is missing. Does the bus stop? Does it go fast? The words leave you waiting.

Now read this.

“A big yellow bus stops.”

Now you know the whole idea. Nothing is left out.

What a sentence is

A sentence is a group of words that tells a whole idea.

Every sentence tells you two things:

• who or what it is about
• what happens

If you can find both, you have a sentence. If one is missing, you do not.

Ask two questions

Here are four groups of words. Ask the two questions about each one.

Words	Who or what?	What happens?	Sentence?
Leo hops.	Leo	hops	Yes
the wet frog	the frog	we never find out	No
sat on a rock	we never find out	sat on a rock	No
Ava sat on a rock.	Ava	sat on a rock	Yes

Both answers have to be there. One alone is not enough.

Long does not mean sentence

Some children think a long group of words must be a sentence. It does not work that way.

“the four small green frogs by the pond”

Count the words. There are eight of them. It is still not a sentence, because you never find out what the frogs do.

“Frogs hop.”

Two words. But it tells a whole idea, so it is a sentence.

Words to know

• sentence: a group of words that tells a whole idea
• whole idea: an idea with no part left out

Your turn

Read each group of words. Say sentence or not a sentence.

1. “The pot is hot.”
2. “six red apples”
3. “Ava naps.”
4. “ran to the gate”
5. “My dad plants a tree.”

Check your answers

1. Sentence. It is about the pot and it tells that the pot is hot.
2. Not a sentence. You never find out what the apples do.
3. Sentence. It is about Ava and it tells that she naps.
4. Not a sentence. You never find out who ran.
5. Sentence. It is about my dad and it tells that he plants a tree.

Remember

• A sentence tells a whole idea.
• It tells who or what, and it tells what happens.
• A long group of words can still be missing a part.