Read carefully the following group of words :
- An aeroplane flies in the air.
- The sun rises in the east.
- February is the shortest month of the year.
Each of these groups of words make complete sense.
A group of words that makes complete sense is called a Sentence.
Kinds of Sentences
Sentences can do four kinds of things. A sentence can —
1. Make a statement, as,
- The earth moves round the sun (Affirmative)
- He never tells a lie (Negative)
A sentence that states or declares something is called an Assertive or Declarative Sentence.
2. Ask a question; as,
- What is the matter?
- Who does not love his country?
A sentence that asks a question is called an Interrogative Sentence.
Express some command, request, entreaty or wish; as,
- Never surrender (Command).
- Lend me your book, please (Request).
- Help me, O God (Entreaty).
- God save the Queen (Wish).
A sentence that expresses a command, a request, an entreaty or a desire is called an Imperative Sentence.
3. Express some strong or sudden feeling; as,
- How hot it is!
- What a clever girl you are! .
A sentence that expresses some strong or sudden feeling is called an Exclamatory Sentence.
From the above it is clear that
- Every sentence begins with a Capital letter.
- A Full Stop (.) is placed at the end of every declarative or imperative sentence.
- A Question Mark (?) is placed at the end of every interrogative sentence.
- An Exclamation Mark (!) is placed at the end of every exclamatory sentence.
Exercise 1 – Say in the case of each of the following sentences whether it Declarative, Interrogative, Imperative or Exclamatory :
- Mind your own business.
- How much is this book?
- What a fool you are!
- Please let me work.
- Do Not Make a Noise.
- This House is to Let.
- Did the Clock Strike?
- Pray Excuse me.
Exercise 2 – Rewrite each of the following sentences correctly after putting the proper punctuation marks :
- What a good boy you are – What a good boy you are!
- How sweet this rose smells
- What is the time by your watch
- Would you mind waiting a few minutes
- What nonsense you talk
- Please help me to lift this box
- You must never lie or cheat
- Will you have a little more coffee
- What have I done to offend you
- Can I speak to you for a few minutes
Rearrangement of Jumbled Words
4. We have already read that a group of jumbled words does not make a sentence. Only a group of words that makes complete sense is called a sentence.
Examples:
- me, he, to, study, law, advised.
- pardon, to, him, the, judge, prisoner, the, begged.
- where, soldiers, determined, were, they, the, were, stay, to.
- defence, something, students, do, also, can, for, the, their, country, of.
- prime, the, announced, minister, relief, the, people, to, all, the, of, district.
Answers:
- He advised me to study law. .
- The prisoner begged the judge to pardon him.
- The soldiers were determined to stay where they were.
- Students also can do something for the defence of their country.
- The Prime Minister announced relief to all die people of the district.
Exercise 3 – Rearrange the words given below to form meaningful sentences:
- they, come, not, have, a, pity, what!
- you, can, tell, me, the, way, the, nearest, inn, to?
- there, were, people, many, at, concert, the?
- a, joy, is, for, ever, of, beauty, a, thing.
- like, luggage, carrying, I, odd, jobs, to, used, do.
- now, then, and, looking, way, that, she, not, help, could.
- have, these, mangoes, flavour, delicious, what, a!
- is, work, the, noblest, of God, honest, an, man.
- you, would, mind, staying, my, here, longer, a, little?
- telling, lies, let, never, me, catch, you.