Types of Sentences

 

The 4 Types of Sentences

There are four types of sentences: declarative, imperative, interrogative, and exclamatory. We go over each of the different types of sentences in this section, explaining what the purpose of the sentence type is, how to use it, and what examples of it look like.

 

Declarative Sentence

Declarative sentences are the most common of the four types of sentences. They’re used when you want to make a statement (which can be a fact or an opinion). These sentences end with a period. Many pieces of writing contain numerous declarative sentences in a row (or are made up nearly entirely of declarative sentences) since they’re the best sentence type for laying out a story in a clear and understandable way.

Examples:

• Ella was late to the dance.
• Songbird populations have decreased dramatically in the past decade.
• I would rather have vanilla ice cream than chocolate ice cream.
• Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775.

 

Imperative Sentence

Imperative sentences give a command or an instruction. They can range from a single verb to a much longer sentence, and they typically end with a period. However, imperative sentences can sometimes end with an exclamation mark if the order is given with a lot of feeling. As long as the sentence is a command, it’s an imperative sentence, not an exclamatory sentence (see below), even if it ends with an exclamation mark.

Examples:

• Shut the door!
• Don’t eat the cake until it has cooled.
• Please pass the gravy.
• Be there by 3:00.

 

Interrogative Sentence

All interrogative sentences ask a question and therefore end with a question mark (which makes them easy to identify!). This sentence type often begins with words such as “do” “how” “who” “what” “where” “when” and “why”. The question may be a yes/no question or one that is more open ended.

Examples:

• Are you still hungry?
• Why do you think Arthur is mad at me?
• Did Taylor remember to let the dog out?
• Was Abraham Lincoln the 16th president?

 

Exclamatory Sentence

Exclamatory sentences are used to express especially strong emotions such as anger, happiness, disbelief, etc. They all end with an exclamation point, however; if the sentence gives a command and ends with an exclamation mark, then it is an imperative, not exclamatory, sentence. This sentence type is only rarely used in professional writing (such as in newspapers or academic journals) where it is important for the author to remain objective and stick to the facts, rather than emotions.

However, for other types of writing, exclamatory sentences can be an effective way to show emotion in your writing and/or evoke a strong emotion in your readers. They can help readers understand when a character is feeling particularly strongly about something, or when something comes as a surprise in the story.

Examples:

• I can’t believe we lost!
• My sister just won the lottery!
• Happy birthday!
• That man just robbed a bank!

 

 

4 Types of Sentences Quiz

Ready to test your knowledge on the four types of sentences? Then try out our quiz! Decide which sentence type each of the ten sentences below is, then check your answers against the answer key beneath the quiz.

1. How was school today?
2. I’m so worried about this science test.
3. The fireworks lasted over an hour!
4. I told you to sit down.
5. Agnes won the spelling bee!
6. Turn to page 152 in your textbook.
7. Wait for me!
8. It’s impossible for kangaroos to jump backwards.
9. Do rose plants need to be watered often?
10. Please hand me the smallest scalpel. 

 

ANSWER KEY

1. Interrogative
2. Declarative
3. Exclamatory
4. Declarative
5. Exclamatory
6. Imperative
7. Imperative
8. Declarative
9. Interrogative
10. Imperative