Grammatically speaking, a sentence may consist of a single word:
Stop.
Duck!
Sing!
I separated those into separate lines to avoid the mental image that would come of combining them. Each of these sentences contains a verb, which we see, and an “invisible” (understood) subject — the audience to whom we are talking.
You’re fascinated, I’m sure. But that isn’t what I mean to talk about here. (And aren’t you glad?)
Now consider the following:
liar
pervert
lazy
ignorant
problem
selfish
These words are also sentences. They are not grammatical sentences, but rather sentences handed down in the courtrooms of the heart. They are issued by a judge to a party presumed guilty, scarlet letters with which we intentionally — or unintentionally — brand people. Sometimes for life.
