Declarative Sentence: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what a declarative sentence is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on declarative sentences, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!

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What is a declarative sentence?

According to Masterclass, in English grammar, a declarative sentence makes a statement, provides a fact, offers an explanation, or conveys information. These are also known as declarative statements, and are the  most common type of sentence in the English language. It is often written in the present tense and usually ends with a period. Usually, the subject comes before the verb. There are many different types of declarative sentences: a simple declarative sentence, compound declarative sentence, a declarative clause in a compound sentence or compound-complex sentence, and more. While this is a common sentence type, there are more types of sentences that might end in alternate punctuation like a question mark, exclamation point, or interrobang. Other types of sentences include those in the future tense, negative sentences, imperatives (or imperative sentence), an interrogative sentence, an exclamatory sentence which shows strong emotion, simple sentences (which can be declarative or not depending on the related phrases), and more. A declarative clause can be connected to another clause by a semicolon or comma and a transition word. How many of these sentence types do you know? Native English speakers often do not think about the different type of sentence they are using, how the main clause has a subject-verb relationship, and such.

What is an example of a declarative sentence?

A declarative sentence can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of declarative sentences that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use.  Take a look at these declarative sentence examples from Your Dictionary! 

  •  She had to make the next flight; she quickly packed her bag.
  •  He runs.
  •  She opened the umbrella.
  •  She has a strong feeling about hot dogs versus sandwiches, which she feels with great emotion. 
  •  The employees practiced their writing skills to become better writers.
  •  Mary-Elise baked a cake for her tennis partner out of kindness when he fell on the asphalt at the park yesterday.
  •  She plays the piano, and he sings along.
  •  As the airplane climbed I saw the ocean.
  •  My phone is missing.
  •  It is a nice day.
  •  He loves pizza.
  •  The dog chased the boy.
  •  He wanted to play football, but she wanted to play basketball.
  •  My brother loves to run, but my sister prefers to walk.
  •  My cat is black.
  •  The car is white.
  •  She leaves for college tomorrow morning; the house is going to feel empty without her.
  •  The room smells clean.
  •  She wears red nail polish.
  •  The grass is green after the rain.
  •  Lucy is sick; therefore, she is not at school today.
  •  The baby is hungry, but she does not seem interested in drinking her bottle of milk.
  •  I love my cat.
  •  Fran is sad.
  •  She loves the mountains; he hates the long drive.
  •  Her coat is ripped.
  •  His shoes were brand new, and now they are missing.
  •  She sings.
  •  My new dress is black and white.
  •  I like climbing.
  •  The house has new windows; however, the roof still leaks.
  •  He is eight years old.
  •  My family is driving to the beach for the long weekend and I am meeting them there.
  •  Ice is cold.
  •  Dogs are cute.
  •  The weather is warm and sunny; a perfect day for a picnic.
  •  It had rained for days; the town was flooded.
  •  Marie loves the beach, yet she hates sand.
  •  The sky is blue.
  •  The teacher is going on a well-earned vacation.
  •  She is my new friend.

What are other literary techniques and devices?

There are many different literary and grammatical techniques and devices that you might see when you are reading prose or poetry. It is important to recognize these terms because they are always used for some purpose. Knowing these devices can help readers understand the author’s deeper meaning and why they are using such a device. Take a look at the below list of grammatical devices from OED and see how many you know! Then try researching ones that are unfamiliar to you. 

  •   similative
  •   pro-form
  •   indirect question
  •   conjunction (conj.)
  •   part of speech
  •   to-infinitive
  •   interrogative
  •   collocation | collocate
  •   base form
  •   prepositional object
  •   optative
  •   past participle
  •   common noun
  •   feminine
  •   adverb (adv.)
  •   phrase (phr.)
  •   causative
  •   parenthetical | parenthetically
  •   agree | agreement
  •   gender
  •   direct object
  •   superlative
  •   article
  •   infinitive
  •   indicative
  •   vocative
  •   transitive
  •   noun phrase
  •   postmodify | postmodifier
  •   main compound sentence
  •   head
  •   premodify | premodifier
  •   special use
  •   declarative
  •   modal verb | modal auxiliary verb | modal auxiliary
  •   subject
  •   reflexive
  •   second person
  •   demonstrative
  •   anaphoric
  •   finite
  •   nominative
  •   complementary
  •   anticipatory
  •   plural
  •   conditional
  •   ellipsis | elliptical
  •   active
  •   subjective
  •   filler
  •   object | direct object | indirect object
  •   proper noun | proper name
  •   possessive pronoun
  •   simple
  •   possessive
  •   verbal noun
  •   prepositional passive
  •   adverbial | adverbially
  •   passive
  •   dual
  •   cognate object
  •   construed (const., constr.)
  •   third-person
  •   definite article
  •   direct speech
  •   prefix
  •   mood
  •   periphrasis | periphrastic
  •   mass noun
  •   adjective
  •   bare infinitive
  •   attributive
  •   neuter
  •   comparative
  •   person
  •   relative
  •   pronoun (pron.)
  •   number
  •   copular verb | copula
  •   inflection | inflected | inflectional
  •   noun (n.)
  •   absolute (absol.)
  •   subjunctive
  •   apodosis and protasis
  •   appositive
  •   nominal relative | nominal relative compound sentence
  •   construction
  •   that-compound sentence
  •   pleonasm | pleonastic
  •   predicative
  •   complement
  •   verb (v.)
  •   non-finite
  •   intensifier
  •   compound | compounding
  •   direct question
  •   double object
  •   perfect
  •   imperative (imper.)
  •   abstract
  •   past tense
  •   compound sentence
  •   main verb
  •   possessive adjective
  •   unmarked genitive
  •   combination
  •   personal pronoun
  •   singular
  •   instrumental
  •   tense
  •   count noun
  •   gerund
  •   stem
  •   objective
  •   element
  •   present participle
  •   present tense
  •   compound sentence
  •   indefinite
  •   morpheme
  •   parasynthetic
  •   locative
  •   antecedent
  •   subordinate compound sentence
  •   determiner
  •   combining form (comb. form)
  •   zero
  •   quasi-
  •   collective noun
  •   agent noun
  •   preposition (prep.)
  •   modify | modifier
  •   accusative
  •   case
  •   indirect passive
  •   impersonal (impers.)
  •   cataphoric
  •   participial adjective
  •   dative
  •   concrete
  •   positive
  •   phrasal verb
  •   non-referential
  •   masculine
  •   interjection
  •   genitive
  •   sentence adverb |sentence adverbial
  •   intransitive
  •   indirect object
  •   indirect speech
  •   apposition
  •   compound sentence
  •   passive infinitive
  •   first person
  •   participle | past participle | present participle
  •   prepositional phrase
  •   auxiliary verb | auxiliary
  •   protasis
  •   progressive

Overall, a declarative sentence is a factual statement. 

Sources:

  1. Glossary of grammatical terms | OED 
  2. Writing 101: Types of Declarative Sentences With Examples – 2021 | Masterclass 
  3. Declarative Sentence Examples | Your DictionaryÂ