Affirmative – Negative – Interrogative-

Exclamative sentences
This course explores 4 types of sentences in ENGLISH : affirmative, negative,
imperative, and exclamative form

1 An affirmative sentence makes a statement,

I Affirmative sentence

Affirmative sentence ≠ negative sentence

An affirmative sentence expresses the validity or truth of a basic assertion

affirming or assenting, or asserting the truth, validity, or fact of something

Ex: Jane lives currently in Detroit, USA. (Here the sentence asserts a fact about
Jane )

Cats are domestic animals (I assert the fact that cats are domestic).

A Verb without NOT Ex make do play…

II Negative sentence

A negative sentence involves denying a truth , or a fact.

Ex Jane does not (doesn’t) live ,currently, in Detroit, USA / Jane no longer lives
in Detroit, USA

Tigers are not (aren’t) domestic animals.

How do we express a negative form?

We have 4 forms of a negative sentence

1- Verb+ not
2- To Do+ not+ bare infinitive of the verb
3- Modal+ verb bare infinitive
4- Never/ no longer: any longer+ verb.

P.S. bare infinitive is a verb without to

The form Verb + not is used only in 2 cases.

A- Case 1
Verb to be
Ex Turkish people are not friendly / aren’t friendly
I am not vegetarian

B- Case 2
In present and present perfect
They have not been there/ haven’t been there since October.
The Husseinite family had not ruled/ hadn’t ruled Tunisia until 2011.
P.S To express a present perfect/ past perfect we never say they don’t have
been there / they do not had ruled.

The model to do+ not+ verb bare infinitive

It is the most common way of expressing a negative sentence.

Ex I do not need help

To Do (in simple present) + not + need (bare infinitive).

Do (in simple past) + not + verb bare infinitive

Laura did not /(didn’t) come yesterday.

Laura did not comes came come today.

Negative form for sentences containing modals

Modal+ not+ verb bare infinitive

They will not call him

Would= would not (wouldn’t)

Will = will not (won’t)

Ex Peter will not travel (travels) to Madrid next summer.

Should= should not (shouldn’t)

You should not eat spicy foods.

Can= cannot can’t + verb bare

Rym cannot speak( speaks) German

Could= could not (couldn’t)+ verb bare inf

Yesterday I could not see (saw) you

May= may not mayn’t

Must= must not (mustn’t)

You must not leave without asking permission

Might = might not (mightn’t).

Shall= shan’t
P.S. shortened worms like aren’t- doesn’t- isn’t- can’t etc…are not accepted in
formal, official and academic texts .like formal letters and PhD dissertations.

Never/ no longer/ any longer

Never/ no longer/ any longer+ verb (not verb bare infinitive)

Aunty Lisa never left her village.

Robert any longer drinks smoothies.

neither ..nor

neither ..nor+ verb

Native Americans have neither African nor European origins

Sentences with verb ‘to be’

To be+ neither …nor

Pamela is creole . She is (is not ) neither fully black nor fully white.
Mexico is (does not belong) neither in Africa nor in Oceania .

III Interrogative sentence

.An interrogative sentence is a type of sentence that asks a question,

In the affirmative form the structure of the sentence is:

Subject+ verb+ object / complement

Interrogative form requires an inversion→verb+subjet

1 ) Sentence expressing a state: giving a description (with to be)

TO BE+ Subject+ object/ complement.

You are here → Are you here?

She was pregnant → Was she pregnant?

I am crazy→ am I crazy ?

2) Ordinary sentences
In ordinary sentences inversion is also necessary. In addition we
always add verb to do

Do +Subject+ verb bare inf +object/ complement

She loves pasta → Does she love pasta ?

Notice here we use ‘does’ because the verb to love is in the present
“loves”

And notice also that love remains in bare infinitive

Did she love?

Does she loves ? .

They are Tunisians→ Are they Tunisians?

The tense of ‘to do’ in the interrogative form always depends on the
tense of the verb in the affirmative one

You understood the text→ Did you understand the text?

Do you understand?

We prepared the dinner → Did we prepare the dinner

Notice here we used ‘did’ not ‘do’ because ‘understand’ and

Notice also that we kept the bare infinitive of ‘to understood and we
didn’t put it the simple past

Did you understood ?

3
Interrogative sentences with modals:

Modal + subject+ verb (bare inf)+object/complement

Sherine can drive trucks

Can Sherine drive trucks?

Can Sherine drives trucks?

You would give me my luggage

I shall speak

Shall I speak now ?

Would you please give me my luggage ?

P.S. luggage never takes a plural form like advice and information.

Interrogative form of verbs in present and past perfect

Have+ subject+ past participle+object/ complement

Had+subject+past participle+object/ complement

Ex

Has she been there ?

Had it increased rapidly ?

VI Exclamative sentence

There are 2 main ways of expressing exclamation in a sentence

How+ adjective + subject+ verb / verb+ subject

How wonderful life is

How expensive is it !

How amazing is it !

What+ article+adjective

Ex What a wonderful movie!

V Imperative form

Verb bare infinitive + object/ complement

(without a subject)!

Come here!

Write your text !

Be careful !

In negative form

Do + not+ verb bare inf+ object/ complement

Do not leave the room !