| Term | Definition |
|---|
| declarative | makes a statement of fact, ends with a period |
| imperative | expresses a command, begins with a verb, often uses implied "you" |
| exclamatory | expresses strong feelings, ends with an exclamation mark |
| interrogative | asks a direct question, ends with a question mark |
| periodic | independent clause at the end of long sentence (dependent phrases or clauses at beginning); very far from conversational speech, produces suspense, difficult to break up into separate sentences |
| loose (cumulative) | independent clause at beginning of long sentence (dependent phrases or clauses at end); most closely mimics conversational speech/informal, easily divided into two or more sentences |
| balanced (often parallel) | two phrases or clauses of similar length and form; phrases/clauses balance each other by virtue of structure, meaning, and/or length |
| antithetical | a parallel/balanced sentence expressing opposite or contrary ideas |
| natural order | subject before predicate |
| inverted order | predicate before subject |
| split order | divide predicate into two parts with subject coming in the middle |
| telegraphic | 4 words or less |
| short | approximately 5-17 words |
| medium | approximately 18-29 words |
| long | 30+ words |
| semicolon | to connect two closely related independent clauses, for huge lists |
| colon | to introduce a list, to introduce an explanation/definition |
| comma | to separate independent clauses joined by a conjunction; after introductory words, phrases, or clauses; to set off appositives; to separate short lists; to set off names of places, dates, and large numbers; to separate coordinate adjectives; to set off quotes |
| dash | acts as a "super comma" to set off an appositive phrases that already contains commas within it; to emphasize a point |
Combine with other sets
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