Sentence Counter

How to use the sentence counter

1. Type or paste your text into the box, or use Open file to load a plain-text file (.txt, .md, .csv and similar). Example fills in a short sample.
2. Read the counts as you type: Sentences, Words, Words per sentence, Median length, Shortest and Longest.
3. Change Flag sentences longer than (words) if you want a limit other than 25 (from 5 to 200).
4. Work through the Sentences over 25 words table. Each row shows the sentence’s position in the text (#), the sentence itself and its word count.
5. Use the Continue with this text links to open the same text in the readability checker, the word counter or the text splitter.

What each number means

The median is useful next to the average. One 60-word sentence among ten short ones pulls the average up a lot but barely moves the median, so a big gap between the two means a few very long sentences, not a generally wordy text.

The long-sentence table shows up to 30 sentences, in the order they appear; its heading gives the full number over the limit.

The rules for ending a sentence

First the tool splits the text into blocks that a sentence never crosses: an empty line starts a new block, and so does every list item (a line starting with -, *, •, –, or a number followed by . or ), then a space). Inside a block, single line breaks and runs of spaces become one space. A sentence then ends at ., !, ? or … (or a run of them, such as ?! or ...) followed by a space or the end of the block, or at the full-width marks 。, ！ and ？, which need no space after them. These cases are handled on purpose:

The abbreviations recognized are Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Prof., Sr., Jr., St., vs., etc., e.g., i.e., Inc., Ltd., Co., Corp., No., Fig., approx., Dept., est., the month abbreviations (Jan. to Dec., plus Sept.), U.S., U.K., a.m. and p.m., in any capitalization. Of these, only etc. can end a sentence, and only when the next word is capitalized.

Edge cases to know about

Every sentence splitter has to guess in some places. These are the ones that change counts most often:

• A single line break does not end a sentence; an empty line does. Text copied from PDFs often breaks lines mid-sentence, so the tool joins lines that touch. Section 2, then on the next line Our results were clear. Sales grew. gives 2 sentences, the first being Section 2 Our results were clear. With an empty line after Section 2 it gives 3. Lines with no end mark and no list marker, such as Apples, Pears, Plums on three lines, count as 1 sentence. Put an empty line after headings before counting.
• List items count separately. A bulleted list of three items without periods (- one, - two, - three) is 3 sentences, and so is a list numbered 1. or 1) with one item per line.
• An abbreviation at the very end of a sentence hides the break. I live in the U.S. It is big. and Call me at 10 a.m. Tomorrow works. each count as 1 sentence, because the tool cannot tell U.S. ending a sentence from U.S. in the middle of one (as in U.S. Army or 10 a.m. Monday). etc. is the exception: it ends a sentence when a capitalized word follows.
• Numbered lists run into one line. A number with a period is treated as a list marker, not a sentence, only at the start of a block or when it is the next number after the previous marker. 1. First item 2. Second item written on one line counts as 2 sentences, 1. First item 2. and Second item, because the second marker is read as the end of the first item. A list that starts after other text on the same line splits differently: Intro. 1. First item gives 3 sentences, with 1. counted as a one-word sentence. Put each item on its own line for an exact split.
• A number on its own is a sentence in running text. What is 5 + 5? 10. Correct! counts as 3 sentences.
• Text with no end mark counts as one sentence if it has at least one letter or digit, and symbols alone (- . !) count as zero.
• Spanish opening marks are fine: ¿Qué tal? Bien. is 2 sentences.

Worked example: splitting a long sentence

The long-sentence list is most useful for editing. This paragraph has an average of 26.5 words per sentence, and the first sentence is flagged at 46 words:

Our new onboarding process, which we introduced in March after a review of customer feedback from the previous two years, now asks new users for fewer details at sign-up and sends them a short checklist by email instead of the long welcome guide we used before. Most users finish it in a day.

The rewrite gives each idea its own sentence and drops words that only held the long sentence together:

We introduced a new onboarding process in March. It is based on two years of customer feedback. New users now give fewer details at sign-up. Instead of the long welcome guide, they get a short checklist by email. Most users finish it in a day.

Splitting usually also improves the Flesch reading ease score, which depends partly on words per sentence; check it in the readability checker.

When a sentence count helps

• Plain-language editing. GOV.UK’s writing guidance asks writers to split sentences over 25 words and to keep paragraphs to 5 sentences or fewer. The default limit matches the first rule; paste one paragraph at a time to check the second.
• School and college assignments that ask for a set number of sentences, such as a five-sentence summary or a short answer of three to five sentences.
• Checking variety. If the shortest and longest sentences are close together, the text may read as monotonous; a mix of short and longer sentences is easier to follow.
• Social posts, product descriptions and email subject lines, where one or two short sentences work better than one long one. For hard character limits, use the character counter.
• Preparing a speech. Long sentences are harder to say in one breath; the list shows which ones to break up before you check timing with the words to minutes converter.

Questions