Know your English: 4 types of sentences
Whether you learn English, or it is your native language, it is important to know its structure well to succeed in academic writing. Proper grammar, punctuation, and syntax help to deliver your thoughts and ideas in the way your readers understand properly. One of the aspects you should be good at is a diversity of types of sentences. They allow conveying your message and making your speech and texts more profound. There are four core types of sentences: declarative, exclamatory, imperative, and interrogative. Let’s look carefully at each of them and also reveal some recommendations for proper usage of them in your writing.
Four basic types of sentences in English
Declarative sentences
This type is also known as statement sentences. It provides readers with basic information or represents statements. Using these structures, you can express your thoughts or describe something. This type is the most frequently used in both writing and speech. Declarative sentences end with a period. Below are some examples:
- The student passed the exams well.
- My daughter likes pizza for breakfast.
- The company needs a new marketing manager.
Usage of declarative sentences
As we already mentioned, declarative sentences are statements, and they can be represented as “Subject is something” or “Subject does something.” You can express your thoughts and feelings using declarative, but usually, they do not reflect any emotional side of the message. For example, “I like music,” conveys the simple message about your habits, but without any special attitude. But in a sentence like “I LOVE music!” we receive the information as well as see your emotion due to the strong verb and the exclamation point. So let’s move to the exclamatory sentences.
Exclamatory sentences
Exclamatory sentences help in expressing emotions and feelings. This method is used for cases where it is important to convey a sensitive part rather than narrative. Exclamations end with exclamation points. If you write something formal, it is better to avoid this type of sentence. But in personal or creative texts, you can write exclamations to express emotions. Here are some examples:
- I’m excited about my date!
- This book is impressive!
- I cannot stand people yelling at me!
Usage of exclamatory sentences
You can simply create an exclamation out of a declarative sentence by adding an exclamation point at the end. It can serve for cases when you want to make your words and a message in general louder and exciting.
However, there are other ways to write emotional sentences without putting exclamation points everywhere. For instance, instead of writing something like this, “The book was so boring!” you can express the thought in other words, “The book was dull and such a waste of time.” Using strong words adds more emotional information than punctuation. In general, do not overuse exclamation points in your text. The proper way of adding them when you show the way someone speaks in direct speech.
Imperative sentences
Also known as command sentences, imperatives are used for giving instructions or demand something. In most cases, you end it with a period, but sometimes an exclamation point can be used. The sentence can have a positive or negative tone. Here’re some examples:
- Do not speak in classrooms.
- Never call me that name again!
- Please, pass me the salt.
Usage of imperative sentences
It is easy to write imperative sentences, but they should be used wisely. They can have neutral or emotional tone. That is why it can have a period or an exclamation mark at the end. For a serious command or a complaint, add an exclamation point, but if you write a neutral instruction, end it with a period.
However, there are many ways to express an imperative message with a different level of politeness. See the examples:
- Make me a cup of tea.
- Please, make me a cup of tea.
- Could I bother you to make me a cup of tea?
Point out that the last imperative is expressed with a question grammatically. It is called an indirect command that has a more polite tone compared to the imperative grammatical form.
Note that both exclamations and imperatives can end with an exclamation mark. But still, they are different grammatical forms and have different purposes.
Interrogative sentences
This is another simple type known as a question. It is used when you need to ask somebody about something. The sentence ends with a question mark. Here are some examples:
- When will you come to the party?
- What is an imperative sentence?
- How many books have you read?
Usage of interrogative sentences
Using interrogative sentences is simple, as they are just questions. You need to know there are also two types of questions in English: wh-questions and yes/no questions.
Wh-questions are built in three steps that are passed intuitively in most cases:
- use the relevant wh-word for replacing the required information;
- place this word at the beginning;
- place a verb “to be” or a helping verb before the subject. In other cases, add a verb “do” there.
Here are some examples:
- Who bakes the best bagels here?
- Where can I buy fresh meat? (notice that the inversion is applied only for a helping verb)
- What is your favorite drink?
- How to cook this dish?
For yes/no questions, you skip the 1,2 stages and simply follow the stage 3 when you put a verb “to be,” “to do” or an auxiliary verb before the subject:
Declarative sentence: This cake is fresh and tasty. I enjoy it.
Yes/no question: Is this cake fresh and tasty? Do you enjoy it?
Recommendations for using the types of sentences in texts
In most cases, we use different types of sentences without thinking about their purpose in the text. But it is better to vary the tone of your essay, for instance, to avoid monotony. The variety of sentences is suitable for creative writing. Using different types will add some beautiful flow to your text.
When it comes to formal or academic writing, it is better to stay more neutral in your text. In those papers and documents, we do not use exclamatory sentences. Imperatives can be used only in instructions or recommendations.
Now let’s discuss this topic from the point of view of each type. Declarative is used for stating the purpose of your text, giving the context and perspective of your text. The structure of this type of sentence is perfect for giving information and representing facts.
Exclamatory sentences are tied to emotions and feelings. So you can use them in your creative texts, messaging, blogging, and other cases when your purpose is arising readers’ emotions. But be cautious using them and do not overwhelm your text with exclamations in order not to look amateur.
Imperative sentences are great for writing recommendations and instructions. You simply write what and how to do something in a neutral form. If it is conversational of informal text, you can dilute the sentences with words “please,” “just,” etc. at the beginning of the sentence.
Interrogative sentences are used for asking questions, and we know this already. Direct questions help in avoiding miscommunication. Better replace indirect questions like “I wish we were in the park right now” with a direct question, “Do you want to go to the park?”. In academic writing, you can use rhetoric questions to move from one thought to another.
Check your knowledge
Check the sentences below and identify their types:
- Go to sleep.
- Close the window.
- Will you come to the party?
- He achieved his goal.
- This journey was great!
- I finished my paper today.
- Check out my painting.
- What a cute cat!
- Who was the best student in your class?
- Pizza is better than a cheeseburger.
Answers:
- Imperative (.)
- Imperative (.)
- Interrogative (?)
- Declarative (.)
- Exclamatory (!)
- Declarative (.)
- Imperative (.)
- Exclamatory (!)
- Interrogative (?)
- Declarative (.)
As soon as you can define different types of sentences, feel free to improve your writing with their diversity. You can start a paragraph of your paper with a question to connect the thought from a previous chapter. If you write a motivational post in your blog, add imperatives to persuade readers to share your views. Emotional exclamation sentences will add some “flavor” to your creative writing or a story.
Conclusion
We hope our article helped you to freshen up your knowledge about types of sentences and their usage in texts. The main point is that the English language is full of various means that can make your creative writing unique and emotional, while academic and formal writing will be more informative and persuasive.
But there are cases when you do not have enough time to tailor your text and fill it with various grammar and syntax forms. You can address your request to our service and find some useful help. Our professional authors can help you with any type of writing, researching, or editing. Just write to our managers and find out how we can be helpful.