Sentence Counter
Every sentence with its word count, plus average, median and long-sentence flags.
Or drop a text file on the box. Nothing leaves your device.
Abbreviations
Built in: titles (Mr., Mrs., Smt., Dr., Prof., St.), e.g., i.e., vs., approx., Pvt., Govt., numbered references (No. 5, Fig. 2, p. 12, Rs. 500, Jan. 3) and initials (A. P. J. Abdul Kalam).
Separate them with commas or spaces; the final dot is optional.
Sentences
Select a number to highlight that sentence in your text.
| # | Sentence | Words |
|---|
Sentence lengths
- Questions
- 0
- Exclamations
- 0
- Shortest sentence
- —
The CSV has the number, word count, character count and type of every sentence.
About the Sentence Counter
Paste or type your text and every sentence is listed with its word count, so you can see at a glance which ones run long. The counter reports the number of sentences, the average and median sentence length, the longest and shortest sentence, and how many sentences are over the limit you choose (25 words by default).
Sentences are found with the Unicode sentence rules that browsers use, plus extra handling for abbreviations: "Dr. Rao", "e.g. tea", "No. 5", "p. 12" and initials such as "J. K. Rowling" do not end a sentence. You can also copy every sentence on its own line, or download the list as a spreadsheet.
How to use it
- Paste your text into the box, or use Open file (or drop a .txt or .md file on the box).
- Read the totals: sentences, words, average and median words per sentence, and the longest sentence.
- Set Flag sentences longer than to your limit. Long sentences are marked in the list; choose Over the limit to see only those.
- Select a sentence number in the list to highlight that sentence in your text and edit it there.
- Copy or download One sentence per line, or download the CSV with the word count of every sentence.
Examples
Dr. Iyer met J. K. Patel at 9 a.m. today. They talked about No. 5 Park St. and left.
Sentences: 2 · Words: 19 · Average: 9.5 words 1. Dr. Iyer met J. K. Patel at 9 a.m. today. (10 words) 2. They talked about No. 5 Park St. and left. (9 words)
Keep it short. This sentence keeps going because it lists the reasons, the people involved, the dates, the places and several other details that a reader has to hold in mind before the point finally arrives.
Sentences: 2 · Words: 36 · Average: 18 words · Longest: 33 words Sentence 2 is over the 25-word limit.
Common uses
- Editing essays, reports and articles so that no sentence is harder to follow than it needs to be.
- Checking web and government copy against plain-language rules such as “split up sentences over 25 words”.
- Splitting a document into one sentence per line for translation, subtitling, text-to-speech or data work.
- Counting sentences for assignments, reading exercises and readability checks.
How sentences are detected
Sentence breaks follow the Unicode text segmentation rules (UAX #29), the same rules browsers use: a sentence ends at ., ! or ? (and ।, 。 in other scripts) when the next sentence starts. A full stop followed by a lower-case word does not end a sentence, so "3.5 kg", "a.m. on Monday" and "etc. and more" stay together.
On top of that, the counter keeps these together:
- titles and Latin abbreviations: Mr., Mrs., Ms., Smt., Dr., Prof., Gen., e.g., i.e., cf., vs., approx., Pvt. Ltd., Govt.;
- abbreviations followed by a number: No. 5, Vol. 2, Fig. 3, p. 12, pp. 4–6, Rs. 500, Jan. 15;
- initials before a name: A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, J. K. Rowling, George W. Bush;
- "St." before a name (St. Xavier's), while "Main St. It is quiet." is two sentences;
- a question or exclamation followed by a lower-case word on the same line, as in dialogue: “Are you coming?” she asked.;
- list markers such as "1." or "a)" with the item they number.
Add your own abbreviations (Bldg, Dept, Corp …) under Abbreviations.
Line breaks, headings and lists
By default every line break ends a sentence, as in the Unicode rules. That way a heading or a list item without a full stop counts as a sentence of its own instead of being joined to the next line.
Text copied from a PDF or an e-mail is often wrapped with a line break in the middle of a sentence. Choose Line breaks: Join wrapped lines and only blank lines (paragraph breaks) will end a sentence.
How long should a sentence be?
There is no single correct length, and a mix of short and long sentences reads better than a uniform rhythm. As a working rule, GOV.UK’s writing guidance says to try to split up sentences that are over 25 words long, which is why the limit starts at 25. Lower it for instructions, mobile screens or readers of English as a second language.
For a fuller picture, the Readability Checker combines sentence length with word length in standard formulas such as Flesch–Kincaid.
Limitations
- Abbreviations are recognised from a built-in English list; an abbreviation that is not on the list and is followed by a capital letter ends the sentence. Add it under Abbreviations.
- A sentence that ends with a capital letter or "St." and a full stop before a name ("Plan B. Rahul agreed.", "We live on Park St. Rahul visits often.") is joined with the next sentence, because it looks like an initial or "Saint".
- Text wrapped in the middle of sentences (copied from a PDF or an e-mail) is counted line by line until you choose Join wrapped lines; the counter suggests it when the lines look wrapped.
- Words are counted with the same Unicode rules as the Word Counter: "a.m." and "e.g." are one word each, numbers count as words, and hyphenated words such as "well-known" count once.
- Chinese and Japanese sentences are found correctly, but their word counts depend on your browser's dictionary-based word breaking.
Privacy
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
How do I count the sentences in a paragraph?
Paste the paragraph into the box. The number of sentences appears at the top, and every sentence is listed below with its word count.
Why is "Dr. Smith" not counted as two sentences?
A full stop after a title such as Dr., Mr. or Prof. never ends a sentence, so the counter keeps the title with the name. The same goes for e.g., i.e., vs., numbered references such as "No. 5" and initials such as "J. K.".
What is the average sentence length?
The total number of words divided by the number of sentences. The median is the middle value when the sentences are sorted by length, so one very long sentence moves it less than the average.
Can I put each sentence on its own line?
Yes. The One sentence per line box lists every sentence on a separate line, with line breaks inside a sentence replaced by spaces. Copy it or download it as a .txt file.
Why does my count differ from Microsoft Word?
Editors treat headings, list items, abbreviations and unpunctuated lines differently. If your text is hard-wrapped, choose Join wrapped lines; if it contains headings without full stops, keep the default so each heading is counted on its own.
Is my text uploaded?
No. The counting runs in your browser and nothing you paste or open is sent anywhere.