The Four Types of Sentence
- Declarative—these sentences make a statement and end with a full stop (US English: period)
I will submit the report on Friday. - Interrogative—these sentences ask questions and end with a question mark.
Will the report be finished by Friday? - Imperative—these sentences are the ones we use to make a request or give a command and they usually end with a full stop. These are the sentences we use for to-do lists, agendas and to outline instructions.
Book the venue.
Make the catering arrangements for morning and afternoon tea, and lunch.
Brief the audio-visual contractors about our requirements.
Draft the agenda. - Exclamatory—these sentences are the ones we use to express strong feelings and they end with an exclamation mark (US English: exclamation point). They are rare in business English but may be used in sales/advertising copy or in emails when we have a strong rapport with the recipient.
Buy one, get one free!
Can you believe it? It’s budget time again! Can we get together for a chat tomorrow, say at ten, and start working on the draft?
Happy writing.
