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The 4 English Sentence Types and Sentence Structure

There are four types of sentences in English: declarative sentences make statements, interrogative sentences ask questions, imperative sentences give commands, and exclamative sentences express strong emotions. The document then provides examples and detailed descriptions of each sentence type, including their typical word order and punctuation. It also discusses four structures that sentences can take: simple sentences with one clause, compound sentences with two independent clauses joined by a conjunction, complex sentences with one independent and one dependent clause, and compound-complex sentences with at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause.

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Adelia Tanti Ramadhani
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258 views8 pages

The 4 English Sentence Types and Sentence Structure

There are four types of sentences in English: declarative sentences make statements, interrogative sentences ask questions, imperative sentences give commands, and exclamative sentences express strong emotions. The document then provides examples and detailed descriptions of each sentence type, including their typical word order and punctuation. It also discusses four structures that sentences can take: simple sentences with one clause, compound sentences with two independent clauses joined by a conjunction, complex sentences with one independent and one dependent clause, and compound-complex sentences with at least two independent clauses and one dependent clause.

Uploaded by

Adelia Tanti Ramadhani
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The 4 English Sentence Types

There are four types of English sentence, classified by their purpose:

 declarative sentence (statement)


 interrogative sentence (question)
 imperative sentence (command)
 exclamative sentence (exclamation)

Sentence types are sometimes called clause types.

form function example sentence final


(clause) punctuation

1 declarative statement: It tells us John likes Mary.


something .
2 interrogative question: It asks us Does Mary like
something John? ?

3 imperative command: It tells us to do Stop! Close the door.


something !or.

4 exclamative exclamation: It expresses What a funny story


surprise he told us! !

(form = structure / function = job)

1. Declarative Sentence (statement)


Declarative sentences make a statement. They tell us something. They give
us information, and they normally end with a full-stop/period.

The usual word order for the declarative sentence is:

 subject + verb...

Declarative sentences can be positive or negative. Look at these examples:

positive negative

I like coffee. I do not like coffee.

We watched TV last night. We did not watch TV last night.

Declarative sentences are the most common type of sentence.


2. Interrogative Sentence (question)
Interrogative sentences ask a question. They ask us something. They want
information, and they always end with a question mark.

The usual word order for the interrogative sentence is:

 (wh-word+) auxiliary + subject + verb...

Interrogative sentences can be positive or negative. Look at these


examples:

positive negative

Do you like coffee? Don't you like coffee?

Why did you go? Why didn't you go?

3. Imperative Sentence (command)


Imperative sentences give a command. They tell us to do something, and
they end with a full-stop/period (.) or exclamation mark/point (!).

The usual word order for the imperative sentence is:

 base verb...

Note that there is usually no subject—because the subject is understood, it


is YOU.
Imperative sentences can be positive or negative. Look at these examples:

positive negative

Stop! Do not stop!

Give her coffee. Don't give her coffee.

4. Exclamative Sentence (exclamation)


Exclamative sentences express strong emotion/surprise—an exclamation—
and they always end with an exclamation mark/point (!).

The usual word order for the exclamative sentence is:

 What (+ adjective) + noun + subject + verb


 How (+ adjective/adverb) + subject + verb

Look at these examples:

 What a liar he is!


 What an exciting movie it was!
 How he lied!
 How exciting the movie was!
The 4 Types of Sentence Structure
Now we can look in more detail at the four types of sentence structure.

Simple Sentence Structure


A simple sentence consists of one independent clause. (An independent
clause contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.)

Independent Clause:

 I like coffee.
 Mary likes tea.
 The earth goes round the sun.
 Mary did not go to the party.

Compound Sentence Structure


A compound sentence is two (or more) independent clauses joined by a
conjunction or semi-colon. Each of these clauses could form a sentence
alone.

Independent Clause – Coordinating Conjunction – Independent Clause

 I like coffee and Mary likes tea.

 Mary went to work but John went to the party.


 Our car broke down; we came last.

There are seven coordinating conjunctions:

 and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

Complex Sentence Structure


A complex sentence consists of an independent clause plus a dependent
clause. (A dependent clause starts with a subordinating conjunction or a
relative pronoun, and contains a subject and verb, but does not express a
complete thought.)

 We missed our plane because we were late.


 Our dog barks when she hears a noise.
 He left in a hurry after he got a phone call.
 Do you know the man who is talking to Mary?

Here are some common subordinating conjunctions:

 after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that,
though, till, until, when, where, whether, while

Here are the five basic relative pronouns:

 that, which, who, whom, whose

Compound-Complex Sentence Structure


A compound-complex sentence consists of at least two independent
clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

 John didn't come because he was ill so Mary was not happy.
 He left in a hurry after he got a phone call but he came back five
minutes later.

A dependent clause is also called a subordinate clause.


The above sentences are basic examples only. In some cases other
arrangements are possible (for example, a dependent clause can come
before an independent clause).

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