Classification of sentences

I. According to the purpose of the utterance the following four types of sentences are distinguished - declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory.

1) The declarative sentence

A declarative sentence states a fact in the affirmative or negative form. In a declarative sentence the subject commonly precedes the predicate. In Modern English (unlike Modern Ukrainian) the predicate usually may have only one negation:

e.g. I have never seen anybody in this desolate place. - Я нікого не бачив у цьому місці.

2) The interrogative sentence

An interrogative sentence usually contains a question or request. It is commonly formed by means of inversion, i.e. by placing the predicate or part of it before the subject, though in the so-called indirect questions the word order is direct:

E.g. 1 .Is he still asleep? (a direct question).

1.1 don't know if he is still asleep (the subordinate clause is an

indirect general question). 2. I don't know why she is still asleep (the subordinate ques­tion is an indirect special question).

There exist the following types of questions:

a) general questions (or "Yes/No"- questions).

They are questions to the predicate of the sentence and require the answer "Yes" or "No" (or "I don't know"). They are usually pronounced with the rising tone. In colloquial English such questions may be incomplete and even reduced to one word only:

e.g. 1. Ready? (- Are you ready?). 2. Lunch? Why not?

b) special (pronominal) questions (or wh-questions).

They are questions to the subject or secondary parts of the sentence which require a concrete answer (or the answer "I don't know") and are usually pronounced with the falling intonation.

Special questions open with special pronominal, pro-adjectival or pro-adverbial interrogative words (or word-combinations) followed by a general question. Such words are also called wh-words. The main function of special questions is to get more exact information about some action or phenomenon known to the speaker and the listener:

e.g. 1. What would you like to eat? ( What is a pronominal wh-word).

2. Where do you live? (Where is a pro-adverbial wh-word).

3. What kind of books do you prefer? ( What is a pro-adjectival wh-word).

4. At what time does Tom go to sleep? (At what time is an inter­rogative pro-adverbial word combination).

How much, how many, how long, for whose sake, etc. are also interrogative pro-adverbial and pro-adjectival word combinations.

Note. When a special interrogative word (or word combination) is at the same time the subject of a special question or an attribute to the subject the order of words is direct (like in declarative sentences, i.e. no inversion is used):

e.g. 1. Who came first? - John did. 2. Whose pen is lying on the table?

c) disjunctive questions (or "tag-questions").

A disjunctive question is a short "yes/no" (i.e., general) question added to a statement (affirmative or negative). Usually, if the statement is affirmative the tag should be negative and vice versa.

Cf. 1. You know this man, don't you?

2. You don't know this man, do you?

The statement and the tag are commonly separated by a pause in speaking and by a comma in writing. The first part of disjunctive questions is usually spoken with a falling intonation while the interrogative tag is pronounced with a rising intonation.

Such questions correspond to the Ukrainian questions like Чи не так? Чи не правда?.

e.g. Не lives in Kyiv. doesn't he? - Він живе у Києві, чи не так?

The tag is usually added to a statement for confirmation but sometimes the speaker actually already knows the answer; in such cases he uses the falling tone in the tag. which makes the whole sentence sound like a statement:

e.g. You are a reasonable man, aren't you? Then why should you ask such foolish questions?

In such sentences the question mark may be even replaced by a full

stop.

A less frequently used type of tag-questions is the type with both parts positive or negative:

e.g. 1. He's made a messenger of you, has he? (Wallace). 2. You didn't know about it, didn't you?

This type of sentence patterns with a tag question is used when the speaker comes to a conclusion concerning some event.

d) interrogative-negative questions

They look like general questions but should obligatorily contain the negative particle not and are characterized by a pronounced emotional tinge of surprise and even indignation:

e.g. 1. Haven't you done your work yet? (= Have you not done your work yet?)

2. Didn't you help him out at the moment? (- Did you not help him out at the moment?). Such sentences correspond to the Ukrainian sentences like Хіба ...не? Невже не? (Невже ти не допоміг йому у цю мить?).

Note: Some grammarians also distinguish the so-called "alternative questions" which are in fact, homogeneous general questions, the second of them being incomplete (elliptical):

Cf. Do you live in Kyiv or in the Hague? (= Do you live in Kyiv or do you live in the Hague?).

e) rhetorical questions

Both general and special questions (pronominal, wh-qucstions) may

serve as rhetorical questions. A rhetorical question contains a statement disguised as a question; it doesn't ask for any new information. It is always emotionally coloured. Besides it is employed to attract the listener's attention. Rhetorical questions are used in emotional speech, especially in oratory and poetry, digressions:

e.g. 1. To me what is wealth? - It may pass in an hour (Byron). 2. Do I know you?! - Of course. I do.

f) suggestive (declarative) questions

These are questions preserving the word order of statements but serving as general questions owing to the rising tone in speaking and a question mark in writing:

Cf. You really want to go? - Do you really want to go?

They are often used for the sake of confirmation, the use of indefinite pronouns has a positive orientation:

e.g. You have somethinglo tell me? - Just a few words. (We are not supposed to say You have anything to tall we?

Suggestive questions are useful and convenient as leading echo-questions to get exact information (in the course of criminal interrogations, etc.):

e.g. You mean to say that you have an alibi? (So, you claim an alibi?). 3) The imperative sentence

Imperative sentences serve to induce a person to do something, thus expressing a command, order, request, invitation, etc. Commands are naturally characterized by the falling tone, while polite requests and invitations are characterized by a polite rising tone:

e.g. Come here! Let him go! (Cf. Open the door, please).

Inducement may be also expressed with the help of interrogative sentences with or without the word please:

e.g. Will (would) you help me, (please)? (but: Will you stop prompt­ing?!- a strict command). Also: Stop prompting, will you?

The imperative mood forms are constructed with the help of the indefinite infinitive form without the particle to (for the second person singular and plural) or with the help of the verb letin the imperative mood followed by a complex object with an infinitive (for the third and the first persons):

Cf. Go! (Don't go!); Let him (them, us, John, the boy, etc.) go!; Don't let them go!

Though the pronoun youh usually only implied, sometimes it may be expressed (when the speaker wants to render contrast or some negative emotion):

e.g. 1 .You go first and Г11 wait a little (contrast).

2. You come here! (irritation, threat). (Cf. Ей ти, ану іди сюди!)

3. Just you wait (threat).

Note: Commands an often expressed without an imperative verb: e.g. 1 .Silence! 2. No smoking! 3. Hush! 4. Off with you! Polite requests may be also expressed in a similar way: e.g. 1. Water, please! 2. Careful, please! 3. Gently, darling!