Three principal sentence types in English—declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory—each serve distinct communicative purposes and have unique structures.
- Declarative: Statements that provide information or express an idea; they end with a period.
- Interrogative: Questions that request information; they usually end with a question mark and often involve subject-verb inversion.
- Exclamatory: Sentences that express strong emotion or excitement; they end with an exclamation mark.
Understanding these types helps in both comprehension and effective communication at all levels.
Declarative Sentences
A sentence that makes a statement or expresses an idea.
They end with a period and provide information.
Declarative sentences make statements or express ideas and always end with a period. They are the most common sentence type used to share information.
- Present facts, opinions, or descriptions.
- Use a regular subject-verb-object order.
- Can be positive or negative.
Examples:
- I live in London.
- She doesn’t like coffee.
Subject + verb (+ object)
Interrogative Sentences
They ask for information and end with a question mark.
A sentence that asks a question
Interrogative sentences ask questions and elicit responses. They usually end with a question mark and often involve a change in word order.
- Use auxiliary verbs (do, does, did, is, are, was, were) for yes/no questions.
- Wh-words (who, what, when, where, why, how) are used for information questions.
- Subject-verb inversion is common (e.g., Are you ready?).
Examples:
- Are you coming?
- What time does the train leave?
Auxiliary verb + subject + main verb
Exclamatory Sentences
They express strong emotion and end with an exclamation mark.
A sentence that shows strong emotion or excitement
Exclamatory sentences convey strong feelings such as joy, surprise, anger, or excitement, and they end with an exclamation mark.
- Often begin with “What” or “How” followed by a subject and verb.
- Can also be a simple statement with emotional tone.
Examples:
- What a beautiful day!
- I can’t believe it!
They express strong emotion
Conclusion
Recognizing declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory sentences enhances understanding and communication by matching form to function and emotion.
- Declarative sentences state facts or opinions and end with a period.
- Interrogative sentences ask questions and use inversion, ending with a question mark.
- Exclamatory sentences express strong emotion and end with an exclamation mark.