Types of Sentences

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Take a second look

Read the comic strip above.

I'm sure the "cleaning your room" part sounds a little familiar to some of you, but think about the way the mom and daughter are talking to each other. They are using some strange words in each of their interactions. Can you pick out those words that sound a little out of place?

Look at the first bubble; if you picked the word "declare," you are correct. Now let's look at the second bubble. If you picked the word "imperative," you got it. There are two words we need to find in the third bubble. You're right if you picked "exclaim" and "interrogate."

What do these words mean?

Declare

Let's look again at the first bubble, where the main character, Angela, "declares" that she is home from school. Looking at the word "declares" in context, we can see that Angela is simply telling her mother that she is home from school.

A declarative sentence is a type of sentence that simply tells information or states a fact. Declarative sentences end in a period and are usually spoken in our normal, everyday tone of voice with no special emphasis on any words.

Now, tell your teacher three facts, just to hear and feel the declarative sentence. Then, ask your teacher to share three facts.

Imperative

Moving on to the second bubble, Angela's mom tells her that it is imperative that she clean her room (we learn later that her Mom is trying to keep her busy while guests for a surprise party arrive). What does "imperative" mean? Again, let's look for context clues. Angela's mom is telling her to do something (clean her room) and making it seem like it is important that she gets the job done.

So, we can say that "imperative" means a need to do something, maybe even something important.

An imperative sentence is a type of sentence that gives a command. It can be forceful and end in an exclamation point, or be like a request and end in a period.

An example of a more forceful imperative sentence would be, "Go to your room!"

This sentence would be spoken in a louder tone, with emphasis on the command word — in this case, "Go."

An example of a less forceful imperative sentence is, "Pass the peas, please."

This sentence would be spoken in a more relaxed tone, with emphasis placed on the command word, "Pass," and the item desired, "peas."

Now, practice speaking a few different commands back and forth with your teacher so you can hear how they sound.

Exclaim

In the third and final bubble, Angela is stomping down the stairs, filled with emotion. She lets out a big "Ugh!" What do you think that "Ugh" means? Is she mad? Is she frustrated? Is she tired? That one word, and the fact that she says, "I exclaim!," tells you that Angela has some pretty strong feelings inside her right now. When you exclaim something, you usually shout out loud, and it can be good or bad.

Exclamatory sentences are types of sentences that show strong emotion, like excitement, frustration, and even pain. They just about always end with an exclamation point and they convey the emotion the speaker is feeling.

Some examples are:

• "I just got an A on my math test!"
• "This computer keeps freezing!"
• "That shot from the doctor really hurt!"

What emotions would you put on each of these three sentences? Ask your teacher to help you practice saying them using different emotions.

Interrogate

The emotional Angela "must interrogate" her mother as to why she is being asked to clean. So, what is Angela actually doing in this sentence? Look at the end punctuation and other context clues for help.

Right, she's asking her mom a question. In fact, "interrogate" actually means "to question." Have you ever heard this word before? If so, where?

Interrogative sentences are sentences that ask a question. They always end with a question mark and are always spoken with emphasis at the end of the sentence. Ask your teacher to help practice asking a few questions back and forth so you can hear what I mean.

Now that you're familiar with these special sentence types, move down to the Got It? section for an interactive quiz!