The NEXT SENTENCE statement causes control to be transferred to the next COBOL sentence (following the next period). This is distinct from the logically next COBOL verb, which is the result of a CONTINUE statement. Note that the ANSI standard states that NEXT SENTENCE is an archaic feature and its use should be avoided.
NEXT SENTENCE
A NEXT SENTENCE statement is allowed anywhere a conditional statement or imperative-statement is allowed.
A NEXT SENTENCE statement transfers the flow of execution to the logically next COBOL verb following the next period.