Complete sentence or just a phrase?

Hello, Radharne, and welcome to the Grammar Exchange.

@Radharne posted:

Can anybody please tell me if the following is a complete sentence or not.

"Next time, please!"

That can be an elliptical sentence in the right context. What is the context?

Thank you David. That is the problem. The teacher only gave that specific phrase and for me it is not a complete sentence.

That phrase is taken from one of the items in an exam of my daughter and the question is, "Is this a sentence or a phrase?". So can it pass to be a complete sentence? Again thank you for any help you can provide.

@Radharne posted:

So can it pass to be a complete sentence?

In the right context, it can be a complete sentence. Consider the fact that if you uttered just "Radharne," your user name on the Grammar Exchange, that would qualify as an abbreviated sentence if I had just asked you what your name was. In that context, "Radharne" would mean "[My name is] Radharne." Similarly, it is possible to imagine contexts in which "Next time, please!" would qualify as an abbreviated sentence. And what that sentence is would depend on the context.

Thanks a lot David. You definitely helped me (and anybody else who needs it) understand the use of abbreviated sentence.