- sentence
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 group of wordsADJECTIVE▪ long, short▪
Try to keep your sentences short.
▪ complete, whole▪ broken, incomplete▪ full▪She was a gifted child and could speak in full sentences at a very young age.
▪ single▪The argument can be distilled into a single sentence.
▪ grammatical, ungrammatical▪ coherent▪ affirmative, declarative, negative▪ complex, simple▪ run-on (AmE)▪ opening▪the opening sentence of the novel
▪‘Once upon a time … ’—the opening sentence to some of our very best-loved fairy tales
▪ following▪I came across the following sentence in a paper recently …
VERB + SENTENCE▪ begin▪ finish▪Peter finished Jane's sentence for her.
▪ complete▪Complete the following sentence: ‘I love dictionaries because … ’.
▪ end▪He tells her not to end her sentences with prepositions.
▪ speak, utter▪Troy uttered one last sentence.
▪The last sentence was spoken considerably more softly than the others.
▪ construct, form, formulate, string together, write▪He can barely form a grammatical sentence.
▪Cooke was so nervous he could barely string a sentence together.
▪ parse▪ punctuate (usually figurative)▪She punctuated her sentence with a well-aimed kick at his right shin.
▪ read▪I kept reading the same sentence over and over again.
SENTENCE + VERB▪ contain sth, have sth▪Does the sentence contain an adverb?
SENTENCE + NOUN▪ structure2 punishment given by a judgeADJECTIVE▪ maximum, minimum▪the mandatory minimum sentence (AmE)
▪ average▪ long, short▪ harsh, heavy, severe, stiff▪ lenient, light▪ reduced▪He turned state's evidence in return for a reduced sentence.
▪ indeterminate (esp. BrE)▪ appropriate▪ mandatory▪The judge imposed the mandatory sentence for murder.
▪ suspended▪ jail, prison▪ criminal▪He suggested doubling the criminal sentences for company executives.
▪ custodial, non-custodial (both BrE)▪ death▪ lifeVERB + SENTENCE▪ hand down, impose, pass, pronounce▪The judge will pass sentence on the accused this afternoon.
▪ be given, get, receive▪ begin (esp. BrE)▪He has begun a life sentence for Carol's murder.
▪ serve▪He will have to serve a life sentence.
▪ carry out, complete▪ex-felons who have completed their sentences
▪ await (esp. BrE)▪He spent a week in custody awaiting sentence.
▪ face▪She could face a long prison sentence.
▪ suspend▪ appeal (esp. AmE), appeal against (BrE)▪ review▪ commute, reduce▪The death sentence may be commuted to life imprisonment.
▪ overturn, quash (BrE)▪ uphold▪The US Supreme Court recently upheld both of these sentences.
▪ carry▪This type of assault carries a maximum sentence of six months in prison.
PREPOSITION▪ sentence for▪an eight-year sentence for burglary
PHRASES▪ under sentence of death▪He was imprisoned under sentence of death.
▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}He has been in prison for two months under sentence of death.
verbADVERB▪ hereby▪I hereby sentence you to death by hanging.
(= as spoken by a judge)▪ in absentia▪He has been convicted and sentenced in absentia.
(= he was not present at the trial.)PREPOSITION▪ for▪They had been sentenced for murder.
▪ to▪He was sentenced to two years in prison.
▪The judge sentenced her to life imprisonment.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
