The Complete (Sentence) Story

I must have had a really terrific elementary school teacher who taught me to read test instructions very, very carefully. I do wish that I could remember which teacher it was, in order to thank him or her. Many, many points have been saved by this practice (and many heartaches and headaches avoided).

I bring this up because I just finished grading EXAM 1. The instructions across the exam said, "answer in a complete sentence." Still, students responded with just a number (24, for example) instead of a sentence ("The number is 24). And I have to take points off...and I really don't like taking points off.

Sometimes people think, mistakenly, that a sentence needs to be wordy or lengthy.

In fact, a sentence, in Spanish, can be only ONE word in length and still "qualify" as a sentence as long as that word is a conjugated verb.

Consider:

Baila.

He dances.

Canta.

She sings.

Trabajan.

They work.

I hope to be that teacher. You might not remember my name a year from now. I want you to remember to check to see that when the instructions read "answer in a complete sentence" on a Spanish exam, that you've written at least one conjugated verb.

C'mon now, say it with me. How long, minimally, is a complete sentence in Spanish?

"At least one conjugated verb."