The classification of sentences

Classification by structure
One traditional scheme for classifying English sentences is by the number and types of finite clauses:

A simple sentence consists of a single independent clause with no dependent clauses. A compound sentence consists of multiple independent clauses with no dependent clauses. These clauses are joined together using conjunctions, punctuation, or both. A complex sentence consists of one or more independent clauses with at least one dependent clause. A complex-compound sentence (or compound-complex sentence) consists of multiple independent clauses, at least one of which has at least one dependent clause.

Classification by purpose
Sentences can also be classified based on their purpose:

A declarative sentence or declaration, the most common type, commonly makes a statement: I am going home. An interrogative sentence or question is commonly used to request information When are you going to work? but sometimes not; see rhetorical question. An exclamatory sentence or exclamation is generally a more emphatic form of statement: What a wonderful day this is! An imperative sentence or command is ordinarily used to make a demand or request: Go do your homework.

Major and minor sentences

A major sentence is a regular sentence; it has a subject and a predicate. For example: I have a ball. In this sentence one can change the persons: We have a ball. However, a minor sentence is an irregular type of sentence. It does not contain a finite verb. For example, "Mary!" "Yes." "Coffee." etc. Other examples of minor sentences are headings (e.g. the heading of this entry), stereotyped expressions (Hello!), emotional expressions (Wow!), proverbs, etc. This can also include sentences which do not contain verbs (e.g. The more, the merrier.) in order to intensify the meaning around the nouns (normally found in poetry and catchphrases).

Sentence Types
There are four basic sentence types: statements, commands, questions, and exclamations.

Sentence types: statements These are also referred to as declarative sentences or declaratives (Latin declarare: "to make clear"). Written prose is made up mainly of statements. This is the sentence type mainly used in this book and described by the forms SVO, SVC, SVA and so on, as discussed earlier in this section. The function of statements is to convey information. My dog + has buried + his bones + in the lawn. SVOA

Sentence types: commands These are also referred to as imperative sentences or imperatives (Latin imperativus : "proceeding from a command"). The subject of a command is usually left out, but it is understood as the second person pronoun "you". Shut the gate. VO Be quiet! VC Get off the grass. VA A gentler or more polite form of the command begins with "let's": Let's have a party. Commands are common in instructions: Rub the fat into the flour. Add a small pinch of salt. Mix in the water, and work to a smooth dough. Alternatively, put all the ingredients in a blender. Whizz them until the pastry has formed into a ball. Chill for at least 2 hours before rolling out.

Sentence types: questions These are also referred to as interrogative sentences or interrogatives.

A question may be either a linguistic expression used to make a request for information, or else the request itself made by such an expression. This information is provided with an answer. Questions are normally put or asked using interrogative sentences. But they can also be put by imperative sentences, which normally express commands: "Tell me what 2 + 2 is"; conversely, some expressions, such as "Would you pass the butter?", have the grammatical form of questions but actually function as requests for action, not for answers. (A phrase such as this could, theoretically, also be viewed not merely as a request but as an observation of the other person's desire to comply with the request given.)

Questions have a number of uses. 'Raising a question' may guide the questioner along an avenue of research (see Socratic method). A rhetorical question is asked in order to make a point, and does not expect an answer (often the answer is implied or obvious). Presuppositional questions, such as "Have you stopped beating your wife?" may be used as a joke or to embarrass an audience, because any answer a person could give would imply more information than he was willing to affirm. Questions can also be titles of works of art and literature (e.g. Leo Tolstoy's short story How Much Land Does a Man Need? and the movie What About Bob?).

Exclamation mark, the punctuation mark ! Exclamation, an emphatic sentence Exclamation, an emphatic interjection Exclamation, a statement against penal interest in criminal law Command (military formation), an organizational unit Command (computing), a statement in a computer language Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards Command Records, a record label The imperative grammatical mood; the tense of verbs when used in commands (Go over there; Exercise good judgment.)