How it works
This random sentence generator builds each line from four lists: 105 subjects, 100 past-tense verbs, 110 objects and 90 endings. Every piece was written to fit every other piece, so the grammar always holds while the meaning is left to chance. Lock the parts you like, swap the rest, start the writing timer, or print a sheet of 30 sentences for a class.
Read the full guide
Build a sentence, then shape it
A finished sentence is on the page when it opens. Press New sentence or the space bar for another. Any part can be kept while everything else changes. Lock "a dragon with hiccups" and keep pressing, and you get a run of things one character did. A sentence can be saved in this browser.
Why the grammar always works
Each subject is a whole noun phrase with its own article, so "the choir" and "three pigeons" can both open a sentence. Every verb is in the simple past, a tense in which singular and plural subjects share one form: the choir found, three pigeons found. Every verb takes a direct object, and every object is a thing, never a person or a living animal, so no pairing turns unkind. Endings say when, where, how or why and need no comma. That gives 105 x 100 x 110 x 90, or 103,950,000 sentences.
Put the sentence to work
Writers use a line as the first sentence of a story: start the five-minute timer and keep going until it runs out. Artists draw exactly what the sentence says. Teachers ask a class to label the subject, verb, object and adverbial phrase, then rewrite the line in the present tense. Language learners translate it, and the past tense keeps that fair. The four word lists are printed in full below the tool.
- Lock the subject and make five sentences. Put them in order and you have a plot outline for one character's very strange day.
- Print 30 sentences, cut the sheet into strips and let each student pull one from a hat as the opening line of a ten-minute free write.
- Grammar drill: rewrite the sentence as a question, then in the passive voice. "A trombone was borrowed by a polite crow" shows why the active voice usually reads better.
- Use one sentence a day for handwriting or typing practice. Put it on the board so a whole class copies the same words.
- For a drawing warm-up, set the timer to two minutes and sketch the sentence exactly as written. Objects such as a pocket-sized volcano make the best pictures.
Questions and answers
Is this a random sentence generator that makes no sense?
Mostly, yes: it is a nonsensical sentence generator on purpose. The grammar is always right, but nothing checks the meaning, so you get lines such as "The moon argued with a jar of pickles during halftime." For a sentence that could really happen, lock a subject you like and swap the verb and the object until they fit. Sensible ones turn up more often than you would expect.
Are the sentences grammatically correct?
Yes, within one pattern: subject, verb, object, ending, in the simple past. That pattern is what makes every combination safe. It also sets the limits. The tool never writes a question, a line of dialogue or a sentence with two clauses, apart from a few endings such as "and nobody noticed".
How many different sentences can it make?
Exactly 103,950,000: 105 subjects times 100 verbs times 110 objects times 90 endings. At one sentence a second, without sleep, reading them all would take more than three years. Within a visit, no word comes back until every other word in its list has had a turn.
Can I print sentences for a class?
Yes. Print 30 sentences makes a clean numbered sheet with nothing else from the page on it. Parts you have locked stay locked on the sheet, so you can print 30 sentences about the same subject, or 30 that all end "in front of the whole class". The sheet is drawn fresh each time, so two print runs give two different worksheets.
Is there a sentence of the day?
Not a fixed one. Each press makes a new sentence; for a class sentence of the day, press once in the morning and write that line on the board.