Sentence Functions: Types & Examples

There are four main sentence functions in the English language: declarative, interrogative, imperative, other exclamatory.

When we describe a sentence based on its function, we are talking about its purpose. If you want to identify the function of a sentence, just ask yourself, ‘What is the point of this sentence? What is it trying to do?‘

What is a sentence function?

What is a sentence function? (That’s an interrogative sentence)

A sentence function is the purpose of a sentence. (Thas a declarative sentence)

How wonderful! (That’s an exclamative sentence)

Read on to find out more. (And that’s an imperative sentence)

What are the four main sentence functions?

Now that we know what a sentence function is, let’s delve a little deeper into the four main sentence functions.

first, take a look at the basic purpose of each sentence function.

• Imperative sentence (gives a command) Eg Stop talking about Thailand!

Let’s look at each sentence function in more detail.

declarative

Declarative sentences are the most common of all sentence functions. We use declarative sentences to:

• Make a statement.

• Give an opinion.

• Provide an explanation.

• Give facts.

We use declarative sentences every day – in informal writing, formal writing, poetry, literature, daily speech, advertising – just about everywhere!

Let’s take a look at some examples of declarative sentences.

Capital of India declarative sentence- Originals

Interrogative sentences are used to ask questions and typically require an answer. There are a few different types of interrogative sentences:

Interrogative sentences usually begin with a WH question word (who, what, where, when, why, and how) or an auxiliary verb (are, do, can, may, etc.), and always end with a question mark (?).

Interrogatives that start with a subject are usually tag questions and are commonly used in colloquial speech. For example, ‘Butterflies are insects, aren’t they?‘, Or, more informally: ‘Butterflies are insects, right?‘

Let’s take a look at some examples of interrogative sentences.

Imperative sentences are mainly used to give a command or make a demand and can be presented in several ways.

There is often no subject present when forming imperative sentences because the subject is assumed to be you, the reader, or the listener. Imperative sentences can end in either a full stop (.) or an exclamation mark (!), depending on the urgency of the command.

Here are some examples of imperative sentences:

Here are some examples of exclamative sentences:

Sentence structures are how we form sentences, such as simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, other compound-complex sentences.

function = imperative sentence

This is an imperative sentence because its purpose is to give a command.

Structure = Complex sentence

function = Declarative sentence

This is a declarative sentence because it is declaring a fact.

Structure = compound sentence

This is a compound sentence because it contains two independent clauses.