Declarative Sentences

Declarative sentences make a statement to relay information or ideas. They are punctuated with
a simple period. Formal essays or reports are composed almost entirely of declarative
sentences.

Examples of Declarative Sentences:

The concert begins in two hours.

July 4th is Independence Day.
Declarative sentences make a statement.
Youre a good man, Charlie Brown.
Green is my favorite color.
Hawaii is a tropical climate.

Imperative Sentences

Imperative sentences issue commands or requests or they can express a desire or wish. They
are punctuated with a simple period or they can be exclamations requiring an exclamation mark.
It all depends on the strength of emotion you want to express. Exclamatory sentences can
consist of a single verb or they can be more lengthy and complex.

Examples of Imperative Sentences:

Halt!
Yield.
Watch for oncoming traffic.
Respond immediately.
Please lower your voice.
Meet me at the town square.
Drop what youre doing and come celebrate with us!
Exclamatory Sentences

Exclamatory sentences express strong emotion. It doesnt really matter what the emotion is, an
exclamatory sentence is the type of sentence needed to express it. Exclamatory sentences
always end in an exclamation mark, so its pretty easy to spot them. Use exclamatory
sentences to portray emotion but take care to use them sparingly. Otherwise, your writing will
lack sincerity.

Examples of Exclamatory Sentences

The river is rising!

I cant wait for the party!
I dont know what Ill do if I dont pass this test!
Oh, my goodness, I won!
Suddenly, a bear appeared in my path!
This is the best day of my life!
Please dont go!

Interrogative Sentences

Interrogative sentences are also easy to spot. Thats because they always ask a question and
end in a question mark.

Examples of Interrogative Sentences:

Is it snowing?
Have you had breakfast?
Do you want Coke or Pepsi?
Who are you taking to the prom?
You like Mexican food, dont you?
SIMPLE SENTENCE

A simple sentence has the most basic elements that make it a sentence: a subject, a
verb, and a completed thought.
Examples of simple sentences include the following:

Joe waited for the train.

"Joe" = subject, "waited" = verb

The train was late.

"The train" = subject, "was" = verb

Mary and Samantha took the bus.

"Mary and Samantha" = compound subject, "took" = verb

I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station.

"I" = subject, "looked" = verb

Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station early but waited until noon for the bus.
"Mary and Samantha" = compound subject, "arrived" and "waited" = compound verb
COMPOUND SENTENCE
A compound sentence refers to a sentence made up of two independent clauses (or
complete sentences) connected to one another with a coordinating conjunction.
Coordinating conjunctions are easy to remember if you think of the words "FAN BOYS":

For
And
Nor
But
Or
Yet
So

Examples of compound sentences include the following:

Joe waited for the train, but the train was late.

I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station, but they arrived at the station before noon
and left on the bus before I arrived.

Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon, and they left on the bus before I
arrived.

Mary and Samantha left on the bus before I arrived, so I did not see them at the bus station.
COMPLEX SENTENCE
A complex sentence is made up of an independent clause and one or more dependent
clauses connected to it. A dependent clause is similar to an independent clause, or complete
sentence, but it lacks one of the elements that would make it a complete sentence.
Examples of dependent clauses include the following:

because Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station before noon
while he waited at the train station
after they left on the bus

Dependent clauses begin with subordinating conjunctions

after
although
as
because
before
even though
if
since
though
unless
until
when
whenever
whereas
wherever
while