Written by Patti Stafford from Patti Stafford
I wanted to title this post, “I declare and exclaim, its imperative you interrogate my sentence”, but thought I’d stick to something a little more proper sounding.
Writing tips often include suggestions to write better sentences, combine short sentences, or construct good sentences. That’s all well and good but what about the sentences themselves? Do we need to know the basic function of a sentence? Knowing the basics could actually improve your writing by giving you a concrete foundation on which to build.
There are four different types of sentences. Each type has a function, but a sentence only has one function. A sentence is used to make a statement, express feeling, give a command or ask a question. That’s all a sentence can do and that’s the only functions it can have.
You can use fancy wording and say you want to convey a message (make a statement or express feeling), you can say you’d like to inquire about something (ask a question), or you can tell someone what to do (make a command), but there’s really nothing fancy or elusive about it. A sentence can only have one of four functions.
We can, however, get a little technical and give these four types/functions a name; Declarative, Imperative, Interrogative, or Exclamatory.
A declarative sentence makes a statement or expresses opinion. It declares something and ends with a period.
Example:
I’m going to town. (I’ve declared something I’m going to do.)
I don’t like the new mayor. (I’ve expressed opinion.)
An imperative sentence has a little more responsibility; it can make a request, give a command or direction and can end with a period or an exclamation point.
It can also sometimes be stated like a question, but a reply isn’t necessary and neither is a question mark.
Example:
Will you please open the door. (This is considered making a request or giving direction and not a question so it doesn’t need a question mark.)
An interrogative sentence is like an interrogation; it asks questions and ends with a question mark- or jail if your interrogation doesn’t go well. I’m kidding, of course, but you get the idea about a sentence being interrogative.
Example:
Did you use a question mark?
Did you write proper sentences?
Don’t forget to answer wisely, or the sentence police may get you.
And finally we come to the exclamatory sentence which is full of emotion and almost shouts from the rooftop.
Example:
“I am an emotional, strong sentence!”
Yes, it ends with an exclamation point and contrary to popular belief, using one exclamation point is plenty.
An exclamation point can also follow an interjection: “Ouch! You stepped on my toe.”
Knowing the four types of sentences may not be the most exciting thing in the world, but it can help you become a better writer by knowing them when you need to decide what kind of information you want to relay to someone.
How many of you remember this from high school English class or did you just have a nice trip down memory lane when you realized you did know these things, they were just forgotten? If English isn’t your first language, I hope these types of articles help you understand the basics a little better. If you have any questions just visit our forum, Grammar, Spelling, and Proofreading to ask questions.
I also want to mention that of all the punctuation marks we have available to us, there’s only three ways to end a sentence; with a period, a question mark or an exclamation point. Pretty simple huh?
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Written by Patti Stafford from 
译文:
四种英文句型及其功能
帕蒂.史塔佛
我本打算将这篇文章命名为《我保证，阅读我的文章会使你受益匪浅》，这样想只是因为想给别人留下更深刻的印象。
通常，写作小贴士会包含一些建议，这些建议是关于如何写出更好的句子，如何合并短句，或如何构筑好的句型等。诚然，这些建议都是很棒的。但你有考虑过句子本身吗？我们有必要考虑句子的基本功能吗？了解这些基础知识有助于你构筑一个坚实的写作基础，进而从根本上提高你的写作水平。
句子可以分为四类。每类句子有且仅有一种功能。句子可以用来表达意愿，抒发感情，做出评论或提出问题。这就是一个句子的唯一功能，这一功能所涵盖的范围也仅此而已。
你可以使用特殊的词语来传达信息（表达意愿或抒发感情），你也可以询问某事（提出问题），或告诉别人你的打算（或你的想法），但这些词语确实没有什么高明之处，甚或它们会存在令人费解的地方。一个句子仅有一种功能。
不过，我们可以根据一些术语将这四种句子命名为：陈述句，祈使句，疑问句，感叹句。
陈述句用于陈述观点或表达看法。它用来陈述某事并以句号结尾。
如：
我要去镇上。（这里陈述了我将要做的事情）
我不喜欢新的市长。（这里陈述了观点）
祈使句的功能比较多。它可以用于提出请求，做出命令或给出指示。句子可以用句号或感叹号结尾。
有时它可以看作是无需答复或没有问号的问句。
如：
你能开个门吗。（这可以看作是提出请求或做出指示，而不是一个问句，因而无需加问号）
疑问句就如同询问过程一样。提出问题——倘若你的询问进行得不够顺利，你还有可能受到“监禁”。当然，我只是在开玩笑，你一定明白什么样的句子才算是疑问句。
如：
你使用问号了吗？
你写的句子正确吗？
记住要正确回答问题，否则你将有可能被句子的“警察”逮捕。
最后，我们讨论的是感叹句。感叹句是一类充满感情色彩的句子，这一点几乎人人皆知。
如：
我是一个感情丰富的句子！
不错，这个句子以感叹号结尾，它是一个感叹句。与普遍观点相反的是这里只使用一个感叹号就足够了。感叹句也可以加在感叹号之后，如：“噢！你踩到我的脚了。”
掌握这四类句型算不了什么，但它有助于提高你的写作水平，使你在需要答复某人时，明确如何选择合适的语句。
在高中英语课上你就已经接触了这些句型，现在还能记住多少？或是已经意识到你原本懂得这些句型，只是现在刚刚回忆起来。你是否已经忘记它们了？如果英语不是你的第一语言，我希望这类文章有助于你更好地了解英语的基础知识。如果你有任何问题都可以访问我的论坛，在这你可以咨询有关语法，拼写及校对的问题。
在此，我还想谈一谈我们所使用的标点符号，只有三种方式可以结束一个句子，那就是使用句号，问号或感叹号。很简单吧？