The Four Types of Sentences and Their Purpose

I wanted to title this post, “I declare and exclaim, its imperative you interrogate my sentence”, but thought I’d stick to something a little more proper sounding.

Writing tips often include suggestions to write better sentences, combine short sentences, or construct good sentences.  That’s all well and good but what about the sentences themselves?  Do we need to know the basic function of a sentence?  Knowing the basics could actually improve your writing by giving you a concrete foundation on which to build.

There are four different types of sentences.  Each type has a function, but a sentence only has one function.  A sentence is used to make a statement, express feeling, give a command or ask a question.  That’s all a sentence can do and that’s the only functions it can have.

You can use fancy wording and say you want to convey a message (make a statement or express feeling), you can say you’d like to inquire about something (ask a question),  or you can tell someone what to do (make a command), but there’s really nothing fancy or elusive about it.  A sentence can only have one of four functions.

We can, however, get a little technical and give these four types/functions a name; Declarative, Imperative, Interrogative, or Exclamatory.

A declarative sentence makes a statement or expresses opinion.  It declares something and ends with a period.

Example:
I’m going to town.  (I’ve declared something I’m going to do.)
I don’t like the new mayor.  (I’ve expressed opinion.)

An imperative sentence has a little more responsibility; it can make a request, give a command or direction and can end with a period or an exclamation point.
It can also sometimes be stated like a question, but a reply isn’t necessary and neither is a question mark.

Example:
Will you please open the door. (This is considered making a request or giving direction and not a question so it doesn’t need a question mark.)

An interrogative sentence is like an interrogation; it asks questions and ends with a question mark- or jail if your interrogation doesn’t go well.  I’m kidding, of course, but you get the idea about a sentence being interrogative.

Example:
Did you use a question mark?
Did you write proper sentences?

Don’t forget to answer wisely, or the sentence police may get you.

And finally we come to the exclamatory sentence which is full of emotion and almost shouts from the rooftop.

Example:
“I am an emotional, strong sentence!”
Yes, it ends with an exclamation point and contrary to popular belief, using one exclamation point is plenty.

An exclamation point can also follow an interjection:  “Ouch!  You stepped on my toe.”

Knowing the four types of sentences may not be the most exciting thing in the world, but it can help you become a better writer by knowing them when you need to decide what kind of information you want to relay to someone.

How many of you remember this from high school English class or did you just have a nice trip down memory lane when you realized you did know these things, they were just forgotten?  If English isn’t your first language, I hope these types of articles help you understand the basics a little better.  If you have any questions just visit our forum, Grammar, Spelling, and Proofreading to ask questions.

I also want to mention that of all the punctuation marks we have available to us, there’s only three ways to end a sentence; with a period, a question mark or an exclamation point.  Pretty simple huh?

Written by Patti Stafford from Patti Stafford
Posted on April 6th, 2009 and filed under Writing
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