Statement, question, command, exclamation
You learn to tell a statement, a question, a command and an exclamation apart.
How to do the test
- Ask what the sentence does: if it asks for an answer, it is a question.
- If it gives an order, it is a command.
- If it starts with What or How and shows strong feeling, it is an exclamation.
- If it only tells you something, it is a statement.
A worked example
What kind of sentence is this? It is so cold today!
- It tells us something.
- It ends with an exclamation mark, but it does not start with What or How.
- So it is a statement and not an exclamation.
- This is a statement.
More examples
What kind of sentence is this? What a big fish you caught!
- It starts with What and has a subject and a verb.
- It shows strong feeling and ends with an exclamation mark.
- This is an exclamation.
What kind of sentence is this? Can you open the window?
- It asks for an answer.
- It ends with a question mark.
- This is a question.
Watch out
You call any sentence with an exclamation mark an exclamation.
Check how it starts. A command can end in !, and so can a statement. Only a sentence that starts with What or How is an exclamation.
Tips
- A command starts with a verb: Close the door. A question often starts with a question word, or with a verb before the subject.
Why it works
Each kind of sentence does a different job: it tells, asks, orders or exclaims. In the KS2 tests an exclamation must start with What or How and have a verb. That keeps the four kinds apart.