Definition and Examples of Exclamatory Sentences

Definition and Examples of Exclamatory Sentences In English grammar, an exclamatory sentence is a type of main clause  that expresses strong feelings by making an exclamation. Compare this with sentences that make a statement  (declarative sentences), express a command  (imperative sentences), or ask a question  (interrogatory sentences). An exclamatory sentence is also called an  exclamative or an exclamative clause. An exclamatory sentence usually ends with an exclamation point  (!). With the appropriate intonation, other sentence types- especially declarative sentences- can be used to form exclamatives.   Adjectives in  Exclamatory Phrases and Clauses Exclamatory phrases can stand on their own as sentences- such as if someone says No way! or uses interjections such as Brrr!- without even needing to have a subject and a verb in them, though to qualify as an exclamatory clause or sentence, a subject and verb need to be present. Author Randolph Quirk and his colleagues explain how adjectives play a part in creating exclamatory phrases and clauses: Adjectives (especially those that can be complement when the subject is eventive, eg: Thats excellent!) can be exclamations, with or without an initial wh-element...:​  Excellent! (How) wonderful!...Such adjective phrases need not be dependent on any previous linguistic context but may be a comment on some object or activity in the situational context. (​A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. Longman, 1985) Interrogative Clauses as Exclamations In addition to sentences that have the typical declarative  subject-verb  structure, there are exclamatory sentences that take a positive or negative interrogative structure. For example, examine the sentence structure here: Oh wow, was that a great concert! Note that the verb was comes before the subject concert. If youre having trouble parsing out subjects for these type of sentences, look first for the verb and then find the subject by deciding what belongs to the verb. Here, its concert, as you could put the sentence in a subject-verb order as Oh wow, that concert was great!   There are exclamatory questions, too, such as, Isnt this fun! or Well, what do you know! And there are rhetorical questions of surprise, such as What?! that end with both a question mark and an exclamation point.   Avoid Overuse in Your Writing Exclamative types of sentences rarely appear in  academic writing, except when theyre part of  quoted  material, which would likely be rare in that field. Please be aware that overuse of exclamations and exclamation points in  essays, nonfiction articles, or in fiction is a sign of amateurish writing. Use them only when absolutely necessary, such as  in direct  quotes and dialogue. Even then, revise out what you can in order to leave only the most necessary. Dont allow exclamation points (and exclamatory sentences) to become a crutch to carry the emotion of a scene. In fiction, the words the characters speak and the tension in the scene driven by the narration should be what expresses the emotion. The author voice  in an essay or nonfiction article should carry the message; exclamations should be restricted to direct quotes attributed to sources. A good rule of thumb to follow for any piece of writing is to allow only one exclamation point for every 2,000 words (or more, if possible). Revising them out of your drafts will make your overall piece stronger by the time its finalized.