Difference Between Imperative and Exclamatory Sentence

The key difference between imperative and exclamatory sentence is that the imperative sentence is a sentence that gives a direct command whereas the exclamatory sentence is a sentence that conveys strong emotion or excitement.

Most people confuse these two types of sentences since both of they often tend to end with exclamatory marks. However, while exclamatory sentences always end with exclamatory marks, imperative sentences can end with exclamation marks or full stops. The other difference between imperative and exclamatory sentence is the structure of these sentences, which we will be discussing here later on.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is an Imperative Sentence
3. What is an Exclamatory Sentence
4. Side by Side Comparison – Imperative vs Exclamatory Sentence in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What is an Imperative Sentence?

An imperative sentence is a sentence that gives a direct command. This type of sentence usually ends with an exclamation mark or a full stop, depending on the strength or forcefulness of the command. For example,

Don’t drink it!
Please pass the salt.
Turn left from here.
Get out of my way!

From the above examples, you can discern that forceful sentences end with exclamation marks and polite commands or those in the form of advice end with full stops. You’ll also notice that imperative sentences do not seem to contain subjects. In fact, the subject of an imperative sentence is the listener or the audience. For example, if the sentence is directed at you, then you are the subject of the sentence.

Figure 01: Imperative Sentence

Furthermore, imperative sentences can be either negative or affirmative. For instance,

Don’t smoke here.
Shut up!
Don’t text me.
Call me as soon as possible.

What is an Exclamatory Sentence?

An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that conveys strong emotion or excitement. It ends with an exclamation mark, and you have to read or say an exclamatory sentence with a particular emphasis. For example,

I love this movie.
I love this movie!

Figure 02: Exclamatory Sentence

The first sentence is a declarative sentence, which states a simple fact, whereas the second sentence is an exclamation. There is a clear difference between the tones of the two sentences due to the punctuation at the end.

We won! – expresses happiness, excitement
You were supposed to help us! – expresses anger
I’m really going to miss you all – expresses sorrow

Some exclamatory sentences also begin with interrogative adjectives what or how. For example, “What big ears you have!”, “How lovely you are!”, etc.

What is the Difference Between Imperative and Exclamatory Sentence?

An imperative sentence is a sentence that gives a direct command whereas an exclamatory sentence is a sentence that conveys strong emotion or excitement. This is the key difference between imperative and exclamatory sentence. Furthermore, while imperative sentences can end with exclamation marks or full stops, exclamatory sentences always end with exclamatory marks. Another notable difference between imperative and exclamatory sentence is that the subject is always the listener or audience in an imperative sentence. The subject of an imperative sentence is always you (second person pronoun) whereas the exclamatory sentences can have various subjects. Moreover, imperative sentences always give commands while exclamatory sentences convey an exclamation.

Summary – Imperative vs Exclamatory Sentence

Imperative and exclamatory sentences are two of the four main types of sentences. The key difference between imperative and exclamatory sentence is that the imperative sentence is a sentence that gives a direct command whereas an exclamatory sentence is a sentence that conveys strong emotion or excitement.

Image Courtesy:

1.”1433095″ by Maklay62 (CC0) via pixabay
2.”We Can Do It!”By J. Howard Miller (1918–2004), artist employed by Westinghouse, poster used by the War Production Co-ordinating Committee (Public Domain) via Commons Wikimedia  

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