Types of Sentences

Humans have the ability to speak. This ability to speak helps us express and convey all our thoughts and feelings to others. When we speak, we use words. Words are put together to form a sentence. The words are placed in an order so that the sentence becomes comprehensible. There are different types of sentences that help us convey our feelings through them. These types of sentences are very important from the writer's point of view. A writer has to use only sentences to explain the different emotions in his/her write up. There is no chance for voice modulation that will help express these emotions. Use of different types of sentences will help add some interest and creativity in the articles or write ups. Let us have a look at the types of sentences used in the English language.

Kinds of Sentences

The different kinds of sentences help add some interest as well as creativity in the write ups. Let us understand simple, complex and compound sentences that are used to frame words according to the basic rules of English grammar. You can understand sentences better by going through the parts of speech.

Simple Sentence
A sentence that contains a subject and a verb to express the complete thought or emotion is called a simple sentence. The simple sentence is also called an independent clause.

Example

Ann likes to dance on weekends.

Betty goes to the church and prays every Sunday.

As you can see from the above examples of simple sentences, a subject and a verb help express the idea behind the thought. The second example also proves, a simple sentence can contain compound verb or subjects as well.

Compound Sentence
The sentence that contains two independent clauses that are connected with the help of a coordinator are called compound sentences. The coordinators help build a relationship between the two clauses. The coordinators used to connect independent clauses are and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet. In most cases, a comma precedes a coordinator. However, in very short sentences, the commas can be exempted according to rules of English grammar.

For Example

Ann wanted to study, so Tom went fishing alone.

Ann wanted to sleep, for Tom went bowling.

As you can see, the independent clauses are connected with a coordinator. In both cases, the relationship between the independent clauses changes with the use of different coordinator. You can play around with the coordinators and use them to express the basic idea.

Complex Sentences
When an independent clause is connected with one or more dependent clauses, it is called a complex sentence. Complex sentences are connected using subordinators. These subordinators include although, after, since, because, when. When the sentence contains a relative pronoun, the subordinator used includes that, which, who. Commas are to be added after the dependent clause, in cases when the complex sentence begins with a subordinator. You do not add a comma in sentences where independent clause begins with a subordinator in the middle of a sentence.

For Example

The model returned the clothes after she finished with the ramp walk.

When Ann woke up in the morning, she forgot to call her friend for notes.

As you can see in the above sentences, the first complex sentence example does not require a comma before the subordinator. Whereas, the second example needs a comma as the sentence begins with a subordinator.

4 Types of Sentences

We have now learned the different formations of sentences. We shall now understand the different types of sentences used to express thoughts. There are 4 types of sentences used in grammar and composition, that are discussed below:

Declarative Sentence
A declarative sentence is also called a statement or assertive sentence. This sentence ends with a period or full stop. These sentences are either simple, compound or complex sentences. They are mostly short and to the point. A declarative sentence is a statement that states an idea. They are mostly stating facts. In some cases, a declarative sentence may contain prepositions, objects of prepositions, direct and indirect objects.

For Example

• I want tea.
• The house was built by my grandfather.
• Sara is late for work.
• The movie, though funny, had some amount of dark humor that may not be appreciated by all.

Interrogative Sentence
An interrogative sentence is the one that asks a question. These sentences end with a question mark (?). These sentences generally begin with who, what, how, why, where, did, do, is.

For Example

• Pussy cat, pussy cat, where have you been?
• Have you seen Roger?
• Will you pass me the sauce?
• What time is the train?

Imperative Sentence
An imperative sentence is usually a command or order, wherein, you ask someone to do something. These sentences generally end with a period like declarative sentences. These imperative sentences tend to lack a specific subject. The subject is usually an implied subject, that is commanded or requested to do some task. These sentences too can be are short, simple or complex sentences.

For Example

• Come here.
• Shut the door.
• Stop laughing.
• Clean your desk.

Exclamatory Sentence
An exclamatory sentence helps convey strong feelings and emotions. These feelings include happiness, anger, excitement, surprise, etc. The emotions in the sentence are read out loud due to the presence of the exclamation mark in the end. An exclamation mark does not convey the feelings, the sentence should contain strong emotion(s). If the emotions are expressed, then it can be called an exclamatory sentence.

For Example

• Oh my God!
• Run, it's a monster!
• Help! Help!
• I don't believe this!

These were the 4 types of sentences used in English grammar. When you try to identify a specific type of sentence, you should ask the question, what is the sentence doing. Correct grammar usage will help you form correct senteces. This will help you differentiate between each type of sentence. I hope the above explanation on different types of sentences has helped you know the difference between the kinds of sentences used in a language.