VOA慢速英语2018--Sentence or Statement?

 

Many VOA Learning¹ English stories and programs use the words “sentence” and “statement².” But what exactly does each word mean? Are there differences between the two?

This week, our question comes from Armando. Here it is:

Question:

What’s the difference between “sentence” and “statement” and how can I use them? - Armando

Answer:

Hello, Armando! I am glad you asked that question. The answer will help a lot of English learners.

First, think of a sentence as a tree and the three kinds of sentences as tree branches.

One branch is a statement. Another is a question. Yet another is a command.

A sentence is a group of words that usually have a subject, verb³ and information about the subject.

Remember: A sentence can be a statement, question or command.

A statement is a basic fact or opinion. It is one kind of sentence. It usually ends with a period or exclamation⁴ point.

To make this clearer, here are examples of the three types of sentences.

The first one is a statement:

Armando studies English every day.

Now, here is the same sentence as a question:

Does Armando study English every day?

And finally, here is the sentence as a command:

Study English every day.

But wait – where did the subject “Armando” go in the command? We do not include subjects in commands. They are understood without being said.

Sentence or statement?

Now, let’s turn to the part of the question about when to use “statement” or “sentence.”

Here is a way to keep it simple:

You can avoid the word “statement” unless you are speaking or writing about something formal, such as written or spoken information from a government official.

English teachers sometimes use the word “statement,” but thankfully you don't have to!

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

I’m Alice Bryant.

Words in This Story

branch – n. a part of a tree that grows out from the trunk

period – n. point (.) used to show the end of a sentence

exclamation point – n. a punctuation⁵ mark (!) used to show an exclamation

formal – ? adj. suitable for serious or official speech and writing

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 statement   

n.陈述；声明；综述

参考例句：

• The government will put out a new statement tomorrow.政府将于明天发布一项新声明。
• Put down your statement in black and white.把你的话用白纸黑字写下来。

3 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

4 exclamation   

n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词

参考例句：

• He could not restrain an exclamation of approval.他禁不住喝一声采。
• The author used three exclamation marks at the end of the last sentence to wake up the readers.作者在文章的最后一句连用了三个惊叹号，以引起读者的注意。

5 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。