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Course: Grammar > Unit 8
Lesson 1: Introduction to sentencesThree types of sentences
Three essential types of sentence are declarative sentences (which are statements), interrogative sentences (which are questions), and imperative sentences (which are orders). Join us as we give examples of each!
Want to join the conversation?
- Can I start a sentence with AND?(15 votes)
- Yes, that is perfectly acceptable. You will notice that it reflects the way people actually speak. And so it is fine :)
Some teachers are not a fan of sentences starting with AND, however, so - if that is the case - you will want to avoid it in your classwork.
But it is good to note that even Strunk and White, who wrote the famous grammar guide, used these sentences in 1959:
"But since writing is communication, clarity can only be a virtue. And although there is no substitute for merit in writing, clarity comes closest to being one."
More info:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/words-to-not-begin-sentences-with
Hope this helps!(30 votes)
- Me: Trying to help some people out with their question....
yandel.velazquez: Im about to ruin this mans WHOLE career(16 votes) - I am the rabbit with the cheese! 🧀 (CRONCH) What the...(12 votes)
- Do I have to do this?(0 votes)
- No. Neither do you have to brush your teeth or bathe. But learning to distinguish between these kinds of sentences will help you communicate clearly, kind of like brushing your teeth and bathing will help you to hold onto your friends.(22 votes)
- they left out exclamatory sentences, or am I wrong. Does it need to be left out?(2 votes)
- Yes. It appears that David Rheinstrom and his team left something out. Forsooth! They must be called back from wherever they've gone to make up for the deficiency!(6 votes)
- Paige WHy Are You Still Eating The Cheese?!?!?(4 votes)
- Is it possible to have a sentence that is in 2 or more category's? Like for example: Lavender was ordered to play baseball so she hated it!(2 votes)
- Using the coordinating conjunction, "so" in the original sentence is appropriate because it shows the cause/effect relationship between the 2 independent clauses. Lavender hated "it" (baseball) because she was "ordered" to play it.
Also, there should be a comma after "baseball" to mark the end of the first independent clause.(4 votes)
- Do all Imperative sentences had exclamation points?(2 votes)
- An imperative sentence is a command. Not all imperative statements use exclamation points. However, using an exclamation point at the end of an imperative sentence is a way to show more force.(4 votes)
- Why cant a sentence start with and?(2 votes)
- Great question, Aubrey! Let us dive in.
In some cases, people say that sentences CANNOT start with a conjunction (such as 'and') whatsoever. However, some people believe that sentences can start with conjunctions - like me!
Here are examples with conjunctions as sentence starters:
"Because":
'Because it started to rain, the boy opened his umbrella.'
In this sentence, I used the word 'because' to start the sentence, and many would agree that this is gramatically correct!
"And":
'And with that, the boy left in the pouring rain.'
In this sentence, I started it with 'and', and wouldn't you agree that this looks correct?
"So":
'"So, did you say that the dog did a head stand?!"'
In this example, I started the sentence with 'so', and this looks perfectly fine to me.
"For":
'For some time, the car hadn't moved in the race.'
This sentence started with the conjunction, 'for', yet it looks good to me.
The conclusion is, you can use some conjunctions to start sentences, but you need to use them wisely. If your teacher is against you using conjuctions to start sentences, then don't use them.
Hope this helps! Have a blessed day!
- Naomi(3 votes)
- Did they forget exclamatory sentences?(2 votes)
- No, it is covered in a video you will see later on. However, if you are looking for the video, here is the link.
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/grammar/syntax-sentences-and-clauses/introduction-to-sentences/v/exclamations-syntax-khan-academy(2 votes)
Video transcript
- [Voiceover] Hello
Grammarians. Hello Paige. - [Paige] Hi, David. - [Dave] So we have
three different sentence varieties that we're
going to talk about today. - [Paige] Okay. - [Dave] Here are their three flavors. Flavor number one, declarative sentences. Flavor number two,
interrogative sentences. And flavor number three,
imperative sentences. Those are all pretty
long and wibbly words. - [Paige] Seriously. - [Dave] But we will address
each one of them in turn. Paige, if you please, what
is a declarative sentence? - [Paige] A declarative sentence is a type of sentence that just
states a fact or an opinion, I suppose, but it just makes a statement. So that would be something like it is a beautiful day. - [Dave] It is a beautiful day, Paige. We can also use declarative sentences to get across any kind of information. This is what we call
exposition in writing. - [Paige] Righ. Yeah. - [Dave] So we can say
Lavender hated baseball. You know, you could start
a short story with that. - [Paige] Right, that's-
- [Dave] I challenge you to. - [Paige] Just a fact about Lavender. - [Dave] That's a fact about Lavender. So a declarative sentence is a statement. Just straight up. - [Paige] Yep. - [Dave] An interrogative
sentence is a question. So it asks a question. - [Paige] It's just a
fancy word for a question. - [Dave] Right.
- [Paige] Okay. - [Dave] So an example of
an interrogative sentence would be where did you go last night? - [Paige] Right. - [Dave] Or how is he
still singing that note? - [Paige] I have no idea. - [Dave] Incredible breath control So that's what an
interrogative question is. - [Paige] Right. It's like being interrogated. That's, like, a similar
word to interrogative, is just having a lot of questions asked. - [Dave] Like really aggressively. - [Paige] Yeah, it's not
a very positive thing. - [Dave] Paige, what did
you do with the cheese? - [Paige] I don't know. (laughs) - [Dave] Paige, why are you
still eating the cheese? - [Paige] I'm not. - [Dave] Paige, I know
you stole the cheese. Finally, the third kind of sentence we want to talk about
today is the imperative. An imperative is a command. - [Paige] Right, so when you
tell someone to do something. - [Dave] So a command like,
Paige, follow that bunny! (laughs) - [Paige] And the bunny stole the cheese. - [Dave] Yeah. So this is one of those
sentences that doesn't have a subject that is
literally spoken out loud. - [Paige] Right, it's just implied. You know, if you're saying that to me, I know that I am the subject. - [Dave] Right. So it's
you follow that bunny. - [Paige] Right. - [Dave] But the you is just not spoken. Or, if you're not into
bunny following, you know, something like remember
to wash the dishes, you're still being commanded to remember. - [Paige] Yeah, yeah. - [Dave] So, yeah,
that's our, those are our three sentence types. - [Paige] Yeah. Declarative is a statement. Interrogative is a question, and imperative is a command. - [Dave] So, Paige, I think
we can recast our slogan in each of these three types of sentence. - [Paige] Okay. - [Dave] So, okay, so declarative, right? That's what it usually
is, declarative form is you can learn anything. - [Paige] Okay. - [Dave] We can make it a
question, so interrogative's can you learn anything? - [Paige] Right. - [Dave] The answer is yes.
- [Paige] Yes. - [Dave] And the imperative,
we wanna make it a command, would be what, Paige? - [Paige] Learn anything! - [Dave] Yeah! So you can do any of those three. - [Paige] Sure. - [Dave] David out. - [Paige] Paige out.