Sentence Construction In most English sentences, a subject comes before its verb. Sometimes this usual pattern is reversed.

In these cases, finding the subject is more difficult. Kinds of Sentences One common way to classify sentences is to group them by their messages. There are four kinds: declarative, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory. Declarative sentences make statements. They always end with periods. Example: The operation was a success. Interrogative sentences ask questions. Such questions end with question marks Example: Was your accident painful? Imperative sentences make commands or requests. The subjects of these sentences are understood and are rarely stated. Imperative sentences usually end with periods; however, strong commands can become exclamatory and end with exclamation points. Examples: Hand me the soccer ball, please. Get out of here! Exclamatory sentences show strong feelings about something. Such sentences always end with exclamation points. Example: What a wonderful athlete she is! How horrible it must have been! Hard-to-Find Subjects Declarative Sentences In all but two kinds of declarative sentences, the subject comes in the normal position before the verb. The exceptions are sentences beginning with there or here and sentences inverted fro emphasis. To locate the subjects in such sentences, rearrange the sentence logically in your mind so that there or here comes after the verb. Eg. There are the lost keys. The lost keys are there. In inverted declarative sentences rephrase the sentence with the subject before the verb. Eg. Beneath the pillows of the couch smouldered the cigarette. . . to. . . The cigarette smouldered beneath the pillows of the couch.

Interrogative Sentences In interrogative sentences the subject often follows the verb. These sentences can begin with a verb, a helping verb or one of the following words: how, what, when, where, which, who, whose and why. To locate the subject, rephrase the sentence to make it declarative. Eg. Is the zoo open in the morning? The zoo is open in the morning. Imperative Sentences The subject of an imperative sentence is usually implied rather than specifically stated. Eg. First draw a circle First [you] draw a circle. Exclamatory Sentences In an exclamatory sentence, the subject may come after the verb or may be understood. To find the subject in many exclamatory sentence simply follow the same techniques for finding subjects in interrogative sentences. Eg. How could I have known! I could have known how.