New Statesman - How to write the perfect sentence: This little miracle you have performed is called a sentence and we are now in a position to define it: a sentence is a structure of logical relationships. Notice how different this is from the usual definitions such as, "A sentence is built out of the eight parts of speech," or, “A sentence is an independent clause containing a subject and a predicate," or, "A sentence is a complete thought." These definitions seem like declarations out of a fog that they deepen. The words are offered as if they explained everything, but each demands an explanation.