Types of sentences

Level : first year LMD (all groups) prepared by English teachers

Types of Sentences (Structure)
(The lesson)

All writing hinges on the ability to craft well-developed sentences. Learn about four different types of sentence structures that can be used to build a professional, well-received message.
°Effective Sentences: In order for business communication to be effective, it is critical that the message has a well-developed sentence structure. Poor writing skills are a detriment to communication and will cause employees to have difficulty in moving up the corporate ladder.
Building a sentence is constructing a puzzle. Perhaps by looking at constructing appropriate sentences as a challenge will cause you to have more interest in developing the writing skill. Let's look at how the puzzle challenge works. The correct puzzle pieces are needed in order to make an effective sentence. Each puzzle piece will be a subject, predicate, main clause/independent clause or dependent clause. We will use the puzzle pieces to explain how to put together each of the following four sentences: simple, compound, complex-sentence and compound-complex sentence.
Simple Sentence: A simple sentence has one main clause, which contains a simple subject - a person, place, thing - and a predicate - the verb or verb phrase. A simple sentence can be expanded by adding pronouns - such as them, her/him - or nouns. Let's take a look at a simple sentence with the two puzzle pieces of subject and predicate.
Julia ran fast down the city street. _The word 'Julia' would be the subject, and 'ran' would be the predicate.
Compound Sentence: A compound sentence is made up of two puzzle pieces or two main clauses (both independent and both equally important). Let's take a look at an example.
Julia ran fast down the street, and John peddled his bike. Both of the clauses before and after the comma could stand independently as complete sentences. This type of sentence is excellent to use to show two independent thoughts or ideas.
Complex-Sentence: A third type of sentence structure is a complex-sentence, which contains one main clause and one subordinate clause or dependent clause. A subordinate clause or dependent clause is a collection of words following a main clause that begins with a conjunction or verb and does not form a complete sentence. Here is an example:
Julia ran fast down the street and avoided many puddles._ the independent clause is ‘Julia ran fast down the street,’ and the dependent clause is ‘avoided many puddles’. ‘Julia ran fast down the street’ would be the first puzzle piece, and the second puzzle piece is ‘and avoided many puddles.’ The dependent clause would not be able to exist as a full sentence without the independent clause. ‘Avoided many puddles’ is not a full sentence because it is lacking a subject.
 A simple sentence has just one clause.
 A complex sentence has one main clause and one or more subordinate clauses.
 A compound sentence has two or more clauses of equal rank.

The Types of Sentences (Function)

1. Declarative/Statement Sentences This type of structure helps in making statements and stating basic information. You can also express an opinion using them. It is the most common type among 4 types of sentences and is prevalent in most academic writings and verbal speech. Put a period when ending this type of the sentence.
Examples:
 Students failed to complete their essays on time.
 My wife loves eating cake in the morning.
 The developer needs new resources for completing a project.
2. Exclamatory/Exclamation Sentences You use an exclamatory type to express deep emotions or feelings. It can either be disbelief or happiness, and it must be finished with an exclamation point. Rarely you need to use this type in formal and highly objective writings.
Examples:
 I got an A in my research paper!
 That movie was exciting!
 I can’t believe how fast that car was moving!
3. Imperative/Command Sentences You use it when giving demand or instruction. A period puts in the end, but in some cases an exclamation mark might be used. This can either be negative or positive depending on a message.
Examples:
 Do not stop!
 Never speak to me like that again.
 Please leave your shoes outside.
4. Interrogative/Question Sentences This type is simple to understand as it helps in expressing a question, whether to be questions with a question words or without. You use a question mark at its end to framing your question.
Examples:
 What time will you finish writing your English homework?
 What is an adverb?
 How often do you read this article?

Their use in Practice

Using this declarative type in writing provides direction and purpose for your context. The reader understands perspective and flow to the topic. You can use it in a creative piece (for example, literary analysis essay) or any subject of some formal writing. A simple one like, “The stock market took a hit yesterday,” relays important information about the market to your readers. This structure is perfect when laying down facts in a simple, understandable manner.
An exclamatory sentence helps readers relate to your emotions and feelings. Using this type is best in blog posts or creative writings where it is imperative to arouse the readers’ emotion. Saying, “He can fall now!” helps display surprise. Choose this type when you want to arouse the readers’ imagination. It is one of 4 kinds of sentences that should not be overused as it might make writing look amateurish.
When you want to issue an instruction or command, your mind is usually in an imperative condition. The reader will act based on your command. You can make your writing more conversational and polite by using words “please,” “just,” or “do,” at the beginning of a sentence. Rather than telling the reader, “Do your chores,” cushion it politely and say “Please, do your chores.”
By now, we know that you choose interrogative kind of sentence to ask questions. Ask direct questions to avoid miscommunication. An example might be, rather than using indirect questions like, ”I was wondering if you want to go watch movies.” say “Do you want to go watch a movie with me?” This is understandable and helps get straightforward answers.
°Using these four types of sentences in writing helps to vary the tone and prevent it from being monotonous. Also you can use these sentences in poetry, but remember about poem punctuation. You should use interrogative sentences to hook readers and create depth to your story. Use different types of sentences in your paragraph to give it some beautiful flow.
Whether you are writing fiction work, analytical essay or a formal document, it is important to understand how and when using different sentences. Keep in mind that scientific work or academic papers do not require exclamatory types. Maintain one right balance of word construction and structure.