0.50 was the average effect size of sentence-combining lessons on the quality of students' writing, a moderate gain, while traditional grammar lessons showed a small negative effect. Writing Next, a meta-analysis of writing instruction in grades 4–12 by Steve Graham and Dolores Perin, Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2007.
What Are The Types Of Sentences?
Types of sentences are the jobs a sentence can do and the ways it can be built. This guide is for parents and teachers of children in 1st through 7th grade (ages 6–13), and it gives every sentence two labels: its job and its build.
By job, a sentence is declarative (it tells), interrogative (it asks), imperative (it tells someone to act) or exclamatory (it shows strong feeling). By build, it is simple, compound, complex or compound-complex, depending on its clauses. A clause is a group of words with its own subject and verb, and it is independent if it can stand alone as a sentence or dependent if it can't.
For example, The library opens at nine. is declarative and simple, and When does the library open? is interrogative and simple. Ava reads comics, and Leo reads mysteries. is declarative and compound, because each half could stand alone.
Read this with your child: Every sentence has a job. It can tell, ask, give an order or show a big feeling. Ask: what is this sentence doing?
Children usually meet the four kinds in 1st grade (ages 6–7) through Common Core (CCSS) standard L.1.1j, and statements, questions, exclamations and commands sit in Year 2 in the UK National Curriculum. Structures follow in 3rd grade (ages 8–9) with L.3.1i (simple, compound and complex sentences), matching the joining words taught in Years 2–3 in the UK National Curriculum. L.7.1b adds compound-complex sentences in 7th grade (ages 12–13), and Years 7–9 in the UK National Curriculum ask students to understand why sentences are constructed as they are.
Examples of Types Of Sentences
Read each bold task to your child, wait for an answer, then check the explanation.
Example 1
Is "The library opens at nine." a statement or a question?
It is a statement, so it is declarative: it tells a fact and ends with a period. Start it with Does, change opens to open and end with a question mark, and it becomes a question.
Example 2
What kind of sentence is the sign "Watch out!"?
The tempting answer is exclamatory, because the sign ends with an exclamation point. Ask what the sign is doing, though: it tells you to do something, and it starts with the verb watch, with no subject in front.
The sign is imperative, a command. The exclamation point shows how strongly the command is given, not which job the sentence does.
Example 3
Is "Can you pass the salt?" a question or a request?
Its form is a question, with a helping verb first and a question mark last, so it is interrogative. Its job at the table is a polite request, which is why nobody answers "Yes, I can" and keeps eating. The line between a question and a request is slippery, so call it interrogative on a worksheet and talk about its second job at home.
Example 4
Join "It started to rain." and "We ran inside." into one compound sentence.
It started to rain, so we ran inside. The comma and so join two independent clauses and show that the rain caused the running. Children who say both short sentences aloud before choosing and, but or so pick the word that fits the meaning instead of defaulting to and.
Example 5
Give "When Grandma visits, will you play the piano, or will Sam sing?" both of its labels.
It asks, so it is interrogative. It holds two independent clauses joined by or and one dependent clause, When Grandma visits, so it is compound-complex.
Table 1: 10 example sentences with both labels (the clue is in bold)
# | Sentence | Kind (job) | Structure (build) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Our class visits the zoo on Friday. | Declarative | Simple |
2 | Where is my library card? | Interrogative | Simple |
3 | Did you feed the fish, or should I do it? | Interrogative | Compound |
4 | Please put your boots by the door. | Imperative | Simple |
5 | When the timer beeps, take the cookies out. | Imperative | Complex |
6 | What a huge pumpkin we picked! | Exclamatory | Simple |
7 | The bus was late, so we walked to school. | Declarative | Compound |
8 | Because the bus was late, we walked to school. | Declarative | Complex |
9 | After the game ended, Mia cheered, and Sam high-fived the coach. | Declarative | Compound-complex |
10 | If it snows tonight, will school close, or will the buses run late? | Interrogative | Compound-complex |
What Are The 4 Kinds Of Sentences?
The 4 kinds of sentences are declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory, and each name describes a job. Two names give the job away: declarative sentences declare, and exclamatory sentences exclaim.
Declarative Sentences
A declarative sentence tells something and ends with a period. Facts, opinions and negatives all count: Pizza is the best lunch. and The store isn't open yet. are statements.
Interrogative Sentences
An interrogative sentence asks and ends with a question mark. Yes-or-no questions usually start with a verb such as is, do or can, and wh- questions start with who, what, where, when, why or how. A tag question adds a short question to a statement: The store is open, isn't it?
Imperative Sentences
An imperative sentence tells someone to do something, from a command to a request or a warning. Its subject is you, usually left out, so Put your boots by the door. means (You) put your boots by the door. Most imperatives end with a period, and a strong command can take an exclamation point.
Exclamatory Sentences
An exclamatory sentence shows strong feeling and ends with an exclamation point, and US lessons usually accept any such sentence, like We won the spelling bee! England's national grammar, punctuation and spelling test, set by the Standards and Testing Agency, counts only exclamations that start with What or How, like row 6 of Table 1, so the spelling-bee sentence is a statement there.
The two systems genuinely disagree, so teach the US meaning and mention the What-or-How rule if your family uses British books.
What Are The 4 Sentence Structures?
The 4 sentence structures are simple, compound, complex and compound-complex. Clauses, not length, decide which one a sentence is.
Simple Sentences
A simple sentence has one independent clause, even when it is long. Ava and her brother read comics on the porch every Saturday. has two subjects but one verb and one clause.
Compound Sentences
A compound sentence joins two or more independent clauses, usually with a comma and a coordinating conjunction. The mnemonic FANBOYS lists all seven: for, and, nor, but, or, yet and so. A semicolon can do the joining instead (The lights flickered; the power went out.).
Complex Sentences
A complex sentence has one independent clause and at least one dependent clause, which starts with a word such as because, when, if, although, after, until or while. When the dependent clause comes first, a comma follows it: Until the rain stops, we'll read inside. Conditional sentences built on an if clause are complex sentences too.
Compound-Complex Sentences
A compound-complex sentence has at least two independent clauses and at least one dependent clause, as in When the power went out, Dad found the flashlight, and we told stories.
How Do You Identify The Type Of A Sentence?
Identify a sentence's type in two passes, job first and build second. The end mark looks like the fastest clue. Actually, check it last, because the guesser who reads only the final mark calls the Watch out sign exclamatory and stops.
Read the sentence aloud and ask what it does: tell, ask, tell someone to act, or show strong feeling.
Look at the first words: a question word or a verb before the subject (Where, Is, Can) signals a question, a verb with no subject (Grab, Don't) signals a command, and What a, or a How that exclaims instead of asking, signals an exclamation.
Check the end mark to confirm the job.
Underline each subject and verb that could stand alone. One means simple.
Circle the joining words: and, but, or or so between full clauses means compound, because, when or if opening a clause that can't stand alone means complex, and both mean compound-complex.
Why Does English Have Different Types Of Sentences?
On paper, nobody can hear your voice. When you talk, your tone and face show whether you are telling, asking or ordering, but a written sentence has only its words, their order and one mark at the end.
Kinds carry the job. A text that says You fed the dog could be news or a question until its end mark decides. Ask a younger child how a friend would know you were asking if English had no question marks.
Structures show how ideas connect. And, but and so join equal ideas, while because, when and if make one idea depend on another, so choosing a structure means choosing how two ideas relate.
Readers need structure too. Scarborough's Reading Rope (2001) counts language structures, the way words build phrases and sentences, as one strand of reading comprehension, as the Connecticut State Department of Education explains.
Beyond the classroom, safety signs run on imperatives, recipes are chains of commands, and science reports explain causes with because.
What Mistakes Do Kids Make With Types Of Sentences?
Mistake 1: Calling A Long Sentence Complex
Where it slips in: A long sentence such as Maya and Leo raced to the bus and grabbed the front seats.
Don't do this: Call it complex because it feels long, which is the memorizer's favorite swap.
The correct way: Count clauses, not words: Maya and Leo share one clause, so the sentence is simple. Compound and complex are the pair that gets swapped, since compound joins two equal clauses and complex hangs a dependent clause on a main one. England's curriculum glossary gives the same warning: a "simple" sentence can be complicated, and a "complex" one straightforward.
Mistake 2: Joining Two Sentences With Only A Comma
Where it slips in: Writing fast, as in The bus was late, we walked to school.
Don't do this: Let a comma hold two independent clauses together. The rusher makes this comma splice, a kind of run-on sentence, all through a story.
The correct way: Use a period, add so after the comma, or start with Because. Reading each half aloud first feels slow, but it is how your child hears that both halves stand alone.
Common Core asks 4th graders (ages 9–10) to correct run-ons (L.4.1f), and marking the boundary between two independent clauses sits in Year 6 in the UK National Curriculum.
Mistake 3: Writing Half A Sentence
Where it slips in: A written answer, such as Why were you late? answered with Because the bus broke down.
Don't do this: Treat the answer as a full sentence. The first instinct is to call it one, since it starts with a capital letter and ends with a period.
The correct way: Attach it to a main clause: I was late because the bus broke down. Out loud the short answer is fine, but in writing it is a fragment, the other half of the same 4th-grade standard.
Types Of Sentences Practice Questions With Answers
Review four key words first: clause, independent, dependent and conjunction. Then hand these 8 questions to your child, with one rule: find the job first, then count the clauses.
What kind of sentence is Is the pool open on Sunday?
What kind of sentence is Put the lid on the paint.
Which end mark does What a long line this is need, and what kind of sentence does it make?
What is the structure of The dog barked, but the baby kept sleeping.
What is the structure of Liam and Zoe painted the fence and washed the brushes.
Join We stayed inside. and It was raining. with because.
Fix the run-on: The movie ended we went home.
Fix the fragment: Because my shoe came untied.
Your turn: write four sentences about your breakfast, one of each kind, and read them aloud to someone at home.
Answer Key
Interrogative: it asks, starts with Is and ends with a question mark.
Imperative: it tells someone to act, with you understood.
An exclamation point. It starts with What a and shows strong feeling, so it is exclamatory.
Compound: but joins two independent clauses.
Simple: one clause with two subjects and two verbs.
We stayed inside because it was raining. (Because it was raining, we stayed inside. is also correct.)
The movie ended, and we went home. Two sentences or so in place of and also work.
Add a main clause, for example I tripped because my shoe came untied. Any main clause that fits is correct.
How Can You Teach Types Of Sentences At Home?
Teach types of sentences by building sentences with your child, not only labeling them. The federal What Works Clearinghouse writing guide (2012, revised 2018) rates teaching sentence construction as backed by moderate evidence and suggests sentence framing, expanding and combining. The Iowa Reading Research Center's sentence-expanding method (2017) adds details by asking where, when, how and why.
Table 2: Four games for types of sentences at home
Game | Practices | You need | How to play | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tell, Ask, Order, Feel | The 4 kinds | Four sticky notes | Read sentences from a cereal box or a library book, and your child taps the matching note | 5 min |
Sentence switch | Changing the kind | Nothing | Say a statement, and your child turns it into a question, a command and a What-or-How exclamation | 3 min |
Glue two sentences | Compound and complex | Paper strips | Write two short sentences, join them with and, so or because, and talk about which version sounds better | 5 min |
Stretch it | Expanding a simple sentence | Nothing | Start with The cat slept. and add where, when, how and why, one detail at a time | 3 min |
If structures stall, go back to two clauses joined by and until counting clauses feels easy.
Conclusion
Types of sentences come in two sets: four kinds that name a sentence's job and four structures that count its clauses.
Check the job before the end mark, because commands and polite requests can carry misleading marks.
Count clauses, not words, since a long sentence can still be simple.
A comma alone can't join two independent clauses, so use a period, a joining word or because.
Building and combining sentences does more for writing than traditional grammar lessons do.
A Practical Next Step
Tonight, pick one sentence from the bedtime book and give it both labels, its job and its build. Once that feels easy, let your child pick the sentence and label it for you, and if a structure stalls, go back to Table 1 and check the clues in order.
Before this: nouns, verbs and complete sentences with a subject and a predicate. After this: commas in compound sentences, relative clauses, verb moods in 8th grade and paragraphs that mix all four structures.
Want your child to practice all four kinds out loud, in talk shows and puppet plays with a live Bhanzu English trainer? Book a free English class.
Research Behind This Article
Steve Graham and Dolores Perin, Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle and High Schools, a report to Carnegie Corporation of New York, published by the Alliance for Excellent Education, 2007: media.carnegie.org
Standards and Testing Agency (England), Key Stage 2 English Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling Test Framework, for tests from 2016: assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
Connecticut State Department of Education, Scarborough Reading Rope, citing Hollis Scarborough (2001): portal.ct.gov
What Works Clearinghouse, Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers (NCEE 2012-4058), June 2012, revised October 2018: ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/17
Jennifer Knight, Iowa Reading Research Center, University of Iowa, Sentence Expanding: Helping Students Build Stronger Sentences, April 25, 2017: irrc.education.uiowa.edu
Frequently Asked Questions
Can A Sentence Be Both Imperative And Exclamatory?
Yes. Among the 4 types of sentences by job, these two overlap: a command said with strong feeling, like the Watch out sign in Example 2, is imperative by job and exclamatory in tone, so name the job first.
Do Imperative Sentences Always Start With A Verb?
No. Please, a name or a time phrase can come first, as in Sam, wash your hands. The subject is still you.
Are Statements, Questions, Commands And Exclamations The Same As The 4 Kinds Of Sentences?
Yes. They are the everyday names for the four kinds of sentences, and England's curriculum uses them as its main terms.
How Can I Help My Child Remember The Types Of Sentences?
Start with the logic: ask "What is this sentence doing?" before naming anything. Then use the hook tell, ask, order, feel for the four kinds of sentences, and count clauses out loud for sentence structure.
What Are Signs My Child Is Struggling With Types Of Sentences?
Watch for questions written without question marks, stories that run on with and then, and reading aloud in one flat voice that ignores end marks. Each sign points to the same fix: read the sentence aloud and ask what job it does.
How Do You Explain A Sentence To Kids In Simple Words?
A sentence is a group of words that tells a whole idea: who or what, and what they do or are.
Which Sentence Structures Should My Child Use In A Story?
A mix of simple, compound and complex sentences. The What Works Clearinghouse guide describes moving students from strings of simple sentences toward compound, complex and compound-complex ones.
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