imperative sentence

(noun)

A statement that tells the reader, in the form of a request, suggestion, or demand, to do something.

Related Terms

  • declarative sentence
  • simple sentences
  • interrogative sentence
  • exclamatory sentence
  • compound sentence
  • complex sentence
  • compound-complex sentence

Examples of imperative sentence in the following topics:

  • Ending Punctuation

    • Periods are used at the end of declarative or imperative sentences.
    • Recall that declarative sentences make statements and imperative sentences give commands.
    • (imperative sentence)
    • (declarative sentence containing an imperative statement)
    • A sentence ending in an exclamation mark may be an exclamation, an imperative, or may indicate astonishment.
  • Using Varied Sentence Lengths and Styles

    • Here is an example of imperative sentence: "Go to work. " An imperative sentence, or command, tells someone to do something (and if done strongly, may be considered both imperative and exclamatory).
    • Structural classifications for sentences include: simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, and compound-complex sentences.
    • An imperative sentence, or command, tells someone to do something (and may be considered both imperative and exclamatory).
    • Sentences in English can also be classified as either major sentences or minor sentences:
    • A major sentence is a regular sentence with a subject and a predicate.
  • Structure of a Sentence

    • English sentences can also be classified based on their purpose: declarations, interrogatives, exclamations, and imperatives.
    • An imperative sentence tells someone to do something (and may be considered both imperative and exclamatory).
    • Imperatives can be effective in making an argument.
    • You can introduce evidence with an imperative (e.g., "Consider the current immigrant crisis in Europe").
    • You can use an imperative to transition from a counter-argument: "Don't be fooled by this faulty logic."
  • Verb Mood: Indicative, Subjunctive, and Imperative

    • In English, there are many grammatical moods, but by far the most common are the indicative, the imperative, the subjunctive, and the conditional.
    • Instead, you change the sentence structure to express a certain mood.
    • The imperative mood expresses direct commands, prohibitions, and requests.
    • In the imperative mood, the subject is almost always implied to be "you."
    • Subjunctive sentences are often of the following form: [Indicative verb phrase setting up a hypothetical scenario such as "I wish," "I believe," "I hope"] + [Subjunctive phrase describing hypothetical scenario].
  • Introduction to Commas

    • If the second independent clause is very short, or if it is an imperative, the comma can be omitted.
    • The first phrase could not stand on its own as a sentence, but when joined to the independent clause by the comma, the sentence is complete.
    • In these situations, say the sentence to yourself.
    • In this sentence, "new" and "weird" are nonrestrictive.
    • In other words, if you dropped a restrictive modifier from a sentence, the meaning of the sentence would change.
  • Introduction to Verbs: Tense, Aspect, and Mood

    • Every sentence needs at least one verb, which is paired with the subject.
    • The three main moods used in English are indicative, subjunctive, imperative.
    • They may be the main verb in a sentence, even if they express a description rather than an action.
    • It is not only important to have subject and verb agreement, but also to utilize the correct verb tense to ensure that a sentence contains its intended meaning.
  • Structure of a Sentence

  • Using Metacommentary to Clarify and Elaborate

    • Here is a successful example of a meta-discussion: In writing Ulysses, James Joyce attempted to write a novel with a coherent narrative while breaking the narrative conventions, such as chronology and sentence structure, that readers assume are necessary to make a plot coherent.
    • What is Immanuel Kant's Categorical Imperative?
    • Here is a successful example of a meta-discussion: In writing Ulysses, James Joyce attempted to write a novel with a coherent narrative while breaking the narrative conventions, such as chronology and sentence structure, that readers assume are necessary to make a plot coherent.
  • Components of a Sentence

    • An incomplete sentence is called a fragment.
    • Compare and contrast the sentences below:
    • In active-voice sentences, it is the noun or pronoun performing the action in the sentence.
    • in a sentence.
    • In a given sentence, there may be more than one of any of the five core sentence elements.
  • Colons

    • Some punctuation marks, such as periods, question marks, and exclamation points, indicate the end of a sentence.
    • However, commas, semicolons, and colons all can appear within a sentence without ending it.
    • Essentially, sentences that are divided by colons are of the form, "Sentence about something: list or definition related to that sentence."
    • The elements that follow the colon may or may not be complete sentences.
    • Because the colon is preceded by a sentence, it is a complete sentence whether what follows the colon is another sentence or not.
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