ABSTRACT
To know what constitutes a sentence is to understand the terms commonly used to express its defining characteristics. A complete sentence features one or more independent clauses. Many writers tend to structure all their sentences the same way: they begin with the subject followed by the predicate. Words can be moved about in various ways to freshen people style and to emphasize one thought over another. A sentence should be clear, concise, and compelling. These qualities overlap, intersect, and sometimes compete. The run-on sentence, a misstep of many beginning writers, usually takes the form of two independent clauses, one following the other, without correct punctuation separating the two. In an active voice sentence, the actor is the subject of the sentence. In passive voice, the subject of the sentence becomes passive in the sense that it receives the action or is acted upon.
