1.4 Spotting different sentence forms
When deciding if a sentence is a declarative, interrogative or imperative, the biggest clue is what order the subject and verb appear in (or whether there’s a subject at all!). You can also look out for question words like who and what at the start of the sentence.
Activity 1 Select the sentence function
a.
Interrogative
b.
Declarative
c.
Imperative
d.
Exclamative
The correct answer is a.
a.
Declarative
b.
Imperative
c.
Interrogative
d.
Exclamative
The correct answer is b.
a.
Declarative
b.
Interrogative
c.
Imperative
d.
Exclamative
The correct answer is d.
a.
Declarative
b.
Imperative
c.
Interrogative
d.
Exclamative
The correct answer is c.
a.
Declarative
b.
Interrogative
c.
Imperative
d.
Exclamative
The correct answer is d.
a.
Declarative
b.
Exclamative
c.
Interrogative
d.
Imperative
The correct answer is a.
Discussion
Note that the first exclamative – I’m tired of all their ridiculous excuses! – is grammatically a declarative sentence, but it would most likely be used to express frustration or annoyance. There’s also an exclamation point at the end of the sentence for emphasis.
One other thing we can do to change the form of a sentence (and its broader meaning) is make it negative. If we make a declarative sentence negative, the SVO order stays the same. When there is a single verb, we add a form of DO + not. With more complex verbs like will give, we add not to the (modal) auxiliary.
They live in London > They don’t live in London
The former head of MI5 will give evidence > The former head of MI5 will not give evidence