Sentence Types: Statements, Questions, Commands, Exclamations

The GPS paper regularly asks children to identify sentence types. There are four of them, each with its own purpose and punctuation. Once your child can tell them apart confidently, these are easy marks.

Statements

A statement tells you something. It gives information. It ends with a full stop.

The cat sat on the mat.

Year 6 SATs take place in May.

Most sentences in everyday writing are statements. They’re the default.

Questions

A question asks something. It ends with a question mark.

Where did you put your book?

Is it raining outside?

Questions often start with question words (who, what, where, when, why, how) or with a verb before the subject (“Is it…”, “Can you…”).

Commands

A command tells someone to do something. It starts with a bossy verb (imperative) and usually ends with a full stop or exclamation mark.

Close the door.

Mix the ingredients together.

Stop right there!

The subject (“you”) is implied but not written. “Close the door” really means “You close the door.”

Exclamations

In SATs, an exclamation has a very specific definition. It must:

Start with “What” or “How”
Contain a verb
End with an exclamation mark

What a beautiful day it is! (exclamation)

How quickly she ran! (exclamation)

That’s amazing! (NOT an exclamation in SATs terms — it’s a statement with an exclamation mark)

This is the trickiest one. Children often think any sentence with “!” is an exclamation, but the SATs definition is much stricter.

SATs-Style Example Question

“Tick one box to show the sentence type: What a fantastic goal that was!”

Statement ☐

Question ☐

Command ☐

Exclamation ☑

It starts with “What”, contains the verb “was”, and ends with “!”.

Common Mistakes to Watch For

Thinking “!” always means exclamation — “Stop!” is a command, not an exclamation. “I can’t believe it!” is a statement with an exclamation mark.
Confusing questions and commands — “Can you close the window?” is technically a question (it ends with “?”), even though it functions as a polite command.
Missing the verb in exclamations — “What a lovely day!” has no verb, so in the strictest SATs definition, it’s debatable. Most mark schemes accept it, but adding a verb makes it clearer.

Ready to practise?

Build confidence with SATs-style questions

Start Free →