The 4 English Sentence Types

(Do not confuse with the 4 types of sentence structure.)

There are four types of English sentence, classified by their purpose:

• declarative sentence (statement)- повествовательное предложение
• interrogative sentence (question)- вопросительное предложение
• imperative sentence (command)- повелительное предложение
• exclamative sentence (exclamation)- восклицательное предложение

Sentence types are sometimes called clause types.

1. Declarative Sentence (statement)

Declarative sentences make a statement. They tell us something. They give us information, and they normally end with a full-stop/period.

The usual word order for the declarative sentence is:

• subject + verb...

Declarative sentences can be positive or negative. Look at these examples:

Declarative sentences are the most common type of sentence.

2. Interrogative Sentence (question)

Interrogative sentences ask a question. They ask us something. They want information, and they always end with a question mark.

The usual word order for the interrogative sentence is:

• (wh-word +) auxiliary + subject + verb...

Interrogative sentences can be positive or negative. Look at these examples:

3. Imperative Sentence (command)

Imperative sentences give a command. They tell us to do something, and they end with a full-stop/period (.) or exclamation mark/point (!).

The usual word order for the imperative sentence is:

• base verb...

Note that there is usually no subject—because the subject is understood, it is YOU.

Imperative sentences can be positive or negative. Look at these examples:

4. Exclamative Sentence (exclamation)

Exclamative sentences express strong emotion/surprise—an exclamation—and they always end with an exclamation mark/point (!).

The usual word order for the exclamative sentence is:

• What (+ adjective) + noun + subject + verb
• How (+ adjective/adverb) + subject + verb

Look at these examples:

• What a liar he is!
• What an exciting movie it was!
• How he lied!
• How exciting the movie was!

The 4 Types of Sentence Structure-Типы предложений по структуре

Now we can look in more detail at the four types of sentence structure.

Simple Sentence Structure

A simple sentence consists of one independent clause. (An independent clause contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought.)

• I like coffee.
• Mary likes tea.
• The earth goes round the sun.
• Mary did not go to the party.

Compound Sentence Structure-сложносочиненные предложения

A compound sentence is two (or more) independent clauses joined by a conjunction or semicolon. Each of these clauses could form a sentence alone.

• I like coffee and Mary likes tea.
• Mary went to work but John went to the party.
• Our car broke down; we came last.

There are seven coordinating conjunctions:

and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so

Complex Sentence Structure-сложноподчиненное предложение

A complex sentence consists of an independent clause plus a dependent clause. (A dependent clause starts with a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun, and contains a subject and verb, but does not express a complete thought.)

• We missed our plane(main clause)  because we were late. (subordinate clause)
• Our dog barks(main clause) when she hears a noise. (subordinate clause)

  Here are some common subordinating conjunctions:

• after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until, when, where, whether, while

Here are the five basic relative pronouns:

• that, which, who, whom, whose

Compound-Complex Sentence Structure-смешанный тип сложного предложения

A compound-complex sentence consists of at least two independent clauses and one or more dependent clauses.

I bumped into Julia (main clause) when I was going home (subordinate clause) and we decided to have lunch together sometime (main clause).

When I moved to New York (subordinate clause ), I felt lonely at first (main clause) but then I met Rose and we became good friends (main clause).