nonsentential

Nonsentential refers to utterances that do not form a complete sentence but are still used in communication. In linguistics, the term contrasts with sentential utterances, which are grammatically complete clauses. Nonsentential forms are common in spoken language and rely on context, prosody, and shared knowledge for interpretation.

Common types of nonsentential utterances include interjections and exclamations such as wow, oh no, and indeed, which express emotion or attitude. Fragmentary responses like Coffee? or Need more time are partial clauses that function in dialogue as questions or prompts. Elliptical or non-clausal answers, such as Because or Yes, can appear in contexts where full sentences would be redundant or unwieldy. Discourse markers such as Well, You know, Anyway, or I guess also fall into this category, serving to manage the flow of conversation rather than to convey a full propositional content.

Linguists analyze nonsentential utterances in terms of function rather than truth-conditional content. They often perform illocutionary or discourse-related roles, including signaling stance, signaling agreement or disagreement, or structuring interactions. Prosody, gesture, and context are essential to their interpretation, as the same surface form can convey different meanings in different situations.

In fields like conversation analysis, pragmatics, and natural language processing, nonsentential forms illuminate how speakers achieve communicative goals without relying on fully grammatical sentences. See also interjection, ellipsis, discourse marker.