Let’s Talk About Sentences - Chapter One: What Is A Sentence?

Sep 2, 2026

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Let’s Talk about Sentences builds practical writing skills for the TASC, starting from a clear definition of sentence structure. It explains how sentences require a subject and a verb, how verbs change with time, and how the subject can be identified even when verbs include multiple words. It also covers commands as a special case where the understood subject is “you,” then moves into expanding sentences using adjectives, proper comma rules for adjective sequences, and list punctuation.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryPresentations

FormatDOCX

Pages64

Reading Time22 min

AccessFree to download

Chapter One: What Is A Sentence?

What is a sentence?

Subject and verb

Chapter Two: COMMANDS

Commands and the understood subject

Polite commands with “please”

Chapter Three: EXPANDING SENTENCES

Expanding with adjectives

Commas between adjectives

Commas and lists

Chapter Four: EXPANDING SENTENCES USING PHRASES

Let’s Talk about Sentences For the Writing section of the TASC, and for college and career, you need to have sentence-combining skills. Let’s develop those skills! CHAPTER ONE: WHAT IS A SENTENCE? What is a sentence? You have probably heard various explanations, for instance: A sentence is a complete thought. For our purposes here, we will use a very simple definition of what a sentence is: A sentence has a subject and a verb. Kate talked. The mother walked. The verb is the word that shows action, although some verbs, like are, be, was, were, seemed etc. don’t seem very active. The verb is also the word that changes with the time. Kate talks. Kate will talk. Kate talked. Once you have identified the verb, you can identify the subject. The subject is the thing that does the action of the verb. Who talked? Kate talked. Kate is the subject. Verbs can be two or even three words: Kate had been talking for 3 hours. And the verb can have words in between: Kate had really been talking a lot. You can also have a compound subject: Kate and Mark talked. CHAPTER TWO: COMMANDS One more thing. There is ONE exception to the rule about what a sentence is (What’s that rule? A sentence has a subject and a verb.) The exception? Commands What are commands? Commands are sentences like the following: Stop. Go. Stop talking! Please stop talking. Where is the subject in a sentence like “Please stop talking?” It may seem strange, but every single command has the same subject (Wow—how is that even possible?) Well, since commands are always speaking to someone or something, the subject is always you. You may have noticed that the word “you” is not even in a command. Because of this, the subject is actually called you understood, and it is written like this: (you) This means that the subject is the word you, but since you is not written or spoken in the sentence, it is simply understood. The subject in each of these sentences is "you," but it doesn't sound correct to use the subject. * You stop talking, please. * You shut the door. * You be there at 5:00. The polite form of a command uses the word "please." * Please give that to me. * Pass the potatoes, please. Sometimes a command may begin with a person’s name: Grandma, be there at 5:00. Kate, please stop talking. Don’t be fooled-it’s still a command! Test Yourself. In the sentences below, which is a command? It’s possible to enjoy yourself even on a seemingly boring day if you read. People who don’t have money to buy books can still enjoy reading. Go to the library and get a library card. Then you will be able to read as many books as you want! CHAPTER THREE: EXPANDING SENTENCES with ADJECTIVES & LISTS When you understand what a sentence is, you can start to play with sentences. For instance, with the “seed” sentence… Kate talked. …You can expand the sentence in all sorts of ways: For instance: Add adjectives Wait, what are adjectives? Adjectives are words that describe nouns (and what’s a noun? Oh yeah, a person place or thing). Examples of adjectives: tall, short, happy, funny, brown, blue, well-built, talkative…. You can expand a sentence using adjectives in all sorts of ways: Kate was a talkative, outgoing person with a lot to say. Here we come to an important rule about commas: When two adjectives are in a row, put a comma between them: Kate was a talkative, outgoing person with a lot to say. You don’t have to stop at TWO adjectives. You can add as many adjectives as you want: Kate was a talkative, outgoing, and annoying person who never shut her mouth. NOTE the commas! Kate was a talkative, outgoing, annoying, pedantic, and boring person who never shut her mouth. While we are on the subject of commas, here is another thing to know about commas and the TASC test: The makers of the TASC like you to put a comma between items in a list, including before the “and”: Kate was a talkative, outgoing, annoying, pedantic, and boring person. This rule, about commas and and, does NOT ju

FAQs

What is the basic definition of a sentence in this guide?

A sentence has a subject and a verb. For the guide’s purposes, a sentence can be as short as two words.

How are commands different from other sentences?

Commands are sentences with a special rule: even though the subject isn’t written, every command has the understood subject “you.”

When should commas be used in expanded sentences and lists?

Use commas between adjectives when two or more adjectives come in a row. Also use commas between items in a list, often including before “and,” and you may use a colon to introduce a list.

Sep 2, 2026

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