The 4 Types of Sentences (With Examples)

English sentences are classified by purpose into four types. A declarative sentence makes a statement and ends with a full stop. An interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark. An imperative sentence gives a command or request and usually ends with a full stop. An exclamatory sentence expresses strong feeling and ends with an exclamation mark. Examples, punctuation rules and an exercise with answers follow.

The short answer

A sentence can be sorted by what it is for. English grammar recognises four types:

This classification is about function. It is separate from the classification by structure (simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences), which you can read about in our guides to simple sentences, compound sentences and complex sentences. Every sentence has both a type and a structure: "Did you finish the report before the meeting started?" is interrogative in function and complex in structure.

1. Declarative sentences

A declarative sentence makes a statement. It is by far the most common type in essays, reports, news and emails, because most writing exists to inform or explain.

• The train to Manchester leaves from platform 4.
• Many students find the first term of university the hardest.
• I don't think the budget is realistic.
• The committee approved the proposal on 12 March.

Word order. A declarative sentence normally follows the pattern subject, then verb, then the rest: She (subject) wrote (verb) a letter (object). This fixed order is what separates it from a question, where the verb or an auxiliary moves in front of the subject.

Punctuation. End with a full stop (British English) or period (American English). Same mark, two names.

Negative statements are still declarative. The shop is not open on Sundays makes a statement, so it is declarative even though it is negative.

A statement can sound like a question. In speech, rising intonation can turn a statement into a question (You're leaving already?). In writing, if you put a question mark at the end, you have written an interrogative sentence, even though the word order is that of a statement. This is acceptable in informal writing and dialogue but is rare in formal essays.

2. Interrogative sentences

An interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question mark. English has three main kinds.

Yes/no questions begin with an auxiliary or modal verb and expect yes or no:

• Is the exam on Friday?
• Can you send me the file?
• Have they confirmed the booking?

Wh- questions begin with who, whom, whose, what, which, when, where, why or how and ask for information:

• Where is the nearest pharmacy?
• Why did the shipment arrive late?
• How many references does the assignment require?

Tag questions add a short question to a statement to check or invite agreement:

• It's a long essay, isn't it?
• You didn't forget the deadline, did you?

The rule for tags is simple: a positive statement takes a negative tag, and a negative statement takes a positive tag.

Word order in questions

English questions need an auxiliary verb placed before the subject. When the sentence has no other auxiliary, English uses do/does/did:

Note that the main verb goes back to its base form after does and did: Does she work, not Does she works.

Direct and indirect questions

A direct question uses the question word order and takes a question mark: Where is the station? An indirect (embedded) question sits inside a statement or a polite request and goes back to statement order, with no question mark if the whole sentence is a statement:

• I wonder where the station is. (declarative)
• Could you tell me where the station is? (a polite question, so it keeps the question mark)

A common error is mixing the two: Could you tell me where is the station? The embedded part should read where the station is.

For more on question marks and when a rhetorical question needs one, see our guides to interrogative sentences and question and exclamation marks.

3. Imperative sentences

An imperative sentence gives a command, an instruction, a request, advice or an invitation. Its most distinctive feature is that the subject, you, is usually understood rather than written.

• Close the door.
• Turn left at the roundabout.
• Please submit your assignment before noon.
• Don't touch the exhibits.
• Let's start with the first question.

Form. The verb is in its base form, with no -s and no tense: Sit down, not Sits down. Negative commands use do not or don't before the verb; let's makes a suggestion that includes the speaker.

Tone. A bare imperative can sound blunt. In speech and in polite writing, add please, a softer verb or a question form:

Be careful with that last column. Rewriting a command as a question changes its grammatical type to interrogative, even though its purpose is still a request. This is why a sentence's type and its job in a conversation can differ. Linguists call Can you pass the salt? an indirect request: the form is interrogative, the function is imperative.

Punctuation. A calm instruction ends with a full stop (Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.). A forceful command can end with an exclamation mark (Stop!). Recipes, manuals and exam instructions are mostly imperative, and they almost always use full stops.

Our guide to imperative sentences covers more patterns, including imperatives with an expressed subject (You be quiet!, Somebody call an ambulance).

4. Exclamatory sentences

An exclamatory sentence expresses strong emotion: surprise, joy, anger, admiration, alarm. It ends with an exclamation mark.

True exclamatory sentences in grammar are built on what or how:

• What a generous gift this is!
• What terrible weather we are having!
• How quickly the year has passed!
• How kind of you to come!

The pattern is What + (a/an) + (adjective) + noun or How + adjective/adverb, and the subject and verb often come after the exclamation phrase, as in What a mess you have made!

Interjections and short exclamations. Words such as Wow!, Ouch!, Congratulations! are exclamations but are not full sentences. Many people count a declarative sentence with an exclamation mark as exclamatory too: I can't believe we won! In school grammar, either answer may be accepted, so check how your teacher defines the category.

Use them sparingly. In academic, legal, technical and business writing, exclamation marks are rare. In emails to colleagues, one is friendly; three look careless. Social media and personal messages are more relaxed.

How to identify the type of a sentence

Use this order of checks:

1. Does it ask something that could be answered with yes, no or a piece of information? If so, it is interrogative.
2. **Does it tell or ask someone to do something, with an understood you?** If so, it is imperative.
3. **Does it show a strong feeling, typically with what or how?** If so, it is exclamatory.
4. Otherwise, does it state something? Then it is declarative.

Look at the purpose first, punctuation second. Punctuation is a clue, not the definition. "Close the door!" is imperative (command), not exclamatory, even with the exclamation mark. "You are joking?" is interrogative in purpose.

How sentence types are tested in school and exams

Sentence types appear early in English-medium grammar teaching and continue to be tested in various forms. The exact wording differs by country and exam board, so follow your own syllabus and teacher, but the patterns below are common:

• Primary school (UK-style national curriculum and similar). Pupils learn that a sentence can be a statement, a question, a command or an exclamation, and they are asked to choose the right end punctuation. Exclamations are often required to begin with what or how and to contain a verb. Under this stricter definition, Wow, that is brilliant! is not an exclamation sentence; How brilliant that is! is.
• Middle and secondary school. Students identify the type of a given sentence, convert between types (statement to question, command to polite request), and combine this with structure labels such as simple or compound.
• English as a second language exams. Tasks such as forming questions, tag questions, indirect questions and imperatives are standard.
• Writing assessments. Examiners reward variety: a text that uses only declaratives can feel flat, and a well-placed question or short command can add emphasis.

If your assignment defines a type differently, follow that definition.

Common mistakes

1. Using a full stop after a direct question. Wrong: What time is the exam. Right: What time is the exam?
2. Using a question mark after an indirect question that is a statement. Wrong: She asked what time the exam was? Right: She asked what time the exam was.
3. Wrong word order in indirect questions. Wrong: I don't know where is the office. Right: I don't know where the office is.
4. Missing auxiliary in questions. Wrong: You like coffee? in formal writing. Right: Do you like coffee?
5. Double marking the verb. Wrong: Does he works here? Right: Does he work here?
6. Overusing exclamation marks. Wrong: Please find the invoice attached!!! Right: Please find the invoice attached.
7. Calling every sentence with "!" exclamatory. An imperative like Look out! is still a command.
8. Mixing up imperatives and declaratives in instructions. Submit the form is imperative; You must submit the form is declarative, even though both tell the reader what to do. Keep the one that fits the document and use it consistently.
9. Mixing up the end mark and the quotation mark. Place the question mark inside the quotation marks if the quoted words are the question, and outside if the whole sentence is the question: She asked, "Is it ready?" but Did she say "ready"?

Exercise: identify the sentence type

Say whether each sentence is declarative, interrogative, imperative or exclamatory, and add the correct end punctuation.

1. Please bring your student card to the exam
2. How cold the lake is
3. Does the course include a final project
4. The results will be published on Monday
5. Turn off your phones before the lecture begins
6. What an unexpected result
7. Who wrote the report
8. I wonder who wrote the report
9. Don't forget to save your work
10. The meeting has been moved to Thursday, hasn't it

Answers

1. Imperative. Please bring your student card to the exam.
2. Exclamatory. How cold the lake is!
3. Interrogative. Does the course include a final project?
4. Declarative. The results will be published on Monday.
5. Imperative. Turn off your phones before the lecture begins. (A full stop suits a calm instruction; an exclamation mark would also be correct if shouted.)
6. Exclamatory. What an unexpected result!
7. Interrogative. Who wrote the report?
8. Declarative. I wonder who wrote the report. It contains an indirect question, but the whole sentence is a statement.
9. Imperative. Don't forget to save your work.
10. Interrogative. The meeting has been moved to Thursday, hasn't it? It is a tag question.

Using AdeptWrite tools

The Grammar Checker can point out a missing question mark, a wrong auxiliary such as Does he works, or a run-on sentence, and it highlights each change so you can accept or reject it. It is a language tool and can make mistakes, so read the suggestion before applying it. The Spell Checker checks spelling against American, British, Australian or Canadian English word lists, which helps if your class uses colour and realise rather than color and realize. If a paragraph is a string of near-identical statements, the Sentence Rewriter can show alternative phrasings, but choose the form that fits your meaning. Each run handles up to 6,000 characters.

← All guides