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grammar

Types of a Sentence

A sentence is a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses. (Source: Oxford Dictionary)

Formal Definition of Sentence

A sentence is a set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate, conveying a statement, question, exclamation, or command, and consisting of a main clause and sometimes one or more subordinate clauses. (Source: Oxford Dictionary)

A sentence can convey a statement, a question, an exclamation, or a command. There are four types of sentence:

1) A Declarative Sentence.

A declarative sentence states a fact and ends with a period (full stop). For example:

  • He has every attribute of a dog except loyalty. (Politician Thomas P Gore)
    • I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult. (Comedian Rita Rudner)

(Remember that a statement which contains an indirect question (like this example) is not a question.)

2) An Imperative Sentence.

An imperative sentence is a command or a polite request. It ends with an exclamation mark or a period (full stop). For example:

  • When a dog runs at you, whistle for him. (Philosopher Henry David Thoreau, 1817-1862)

3) An Interrogative Sentence.

An interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark. For example:

  • Who knew that dog saliva can mend a broken heart? (Author Jennifer Neal)

4) An Exclamatory Sentence.

An exclamatory sentence expresses excitement or emotion. It ends with an exclamation mark. For example:

  • In Washington, it’s dog eat dog. In academia, it’s exactly the opposite! (Politician Robert Reich)

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