Exclamatory Sentence: Explanation, Examples, and Worksheet

What Is an Exclamatory Sentence?

An exclamatory sentence is a type of sentence that helps you convey unexpected and strong feelings or emotions. These are a more forceful version of a declarative sentence which conveys not only information but also excitement or emotion. These sentences help you convey your emotions such as excitement, surprise, anger, joy, or any other intense feeling, effectively. Moreover, exclamatory sentences in English often begin with “What” or “How” and always end with an exclamation mark (!). In fact, these may also include interjections such as "Wow!", "Ouch!", or "Yay!” etc.

The exclamatory sentence definition,according to the Cambridge Dictionary is “A sentence containing an exclamation or strong emphasis”. Besides, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, “the meaning of exclamatory is containing, expressing, using, or relating to the exclamation”. For example, “What a beautiful day!" or "I'm so excited!" are exclamatory sentences examples for your reference.

Structure, Rules, and Punctuation of an Exclamatory Sentence

An exclamatory sentence expresses emotion and always ends with an exclamation mark. But do you know the structure, rules, and punctuation that these sentences follow? Read on and learn about them in detail.

• The structure of exclamatory sentence is "What + (a/an) + adjective + noun + subject + verb!" or "How + adjective/adverb + subject + verb!". Besides, these sentences may begin with an interjection like "Wow," "Oh," "Ouch," or "Yay" to express strong feelings or with "What"/ "How" to emphasize a noun or adjective in the sentence.

• Talking about exclamatory sentence rulesand guidelines, these often emphasize emotions to convey strong emotions like excitement, surprise, anger, or joy. Moreover, they may start with exclamatory words like "What" or "How" but always end with an exclamation point (!). These sentences also include interjections to express specific emotions.

• Lastly, the punctuation of an exclamatory sentenceindicates intense feeling. It signals strong emotion or emphasis, which is the key characteristic of an exclamatory sentence. Thus, one must keep in mind that the exclamation mark should not be placed within a sentence, but only at the end. Moreover, commas may be used to separate interjections from the rest of the sentence.

Key Characteristics of Exclamatory Sentence

Here are a few key characteristics of exclamatory sentences:

1. Expresses strong emotion or feeling: An exclamatory sentenceconveys intense emotions such as excitement, surprise, anger, joy, frustration, or fear.
2. The exclamation mark at the end of the sentence (!): This punctuation mark at the end of the sentence is a defining feature that signifies heightened emotion.
3. Can be a full sentence or a short phrase: Exclamatory sentences may or may not be complete sentences, they can be short exclamations, phrases, or fragments expressing emotion.
4. Begins with exclamatory words: An exclamatory sentence usually starts with exclamatory pronouns like "what" or "how," or interjections such as "wow," "oh," or "ouch" to highlight.

Examples of Exclamatory Sentences

Here are some exclamatory sentences examples along with what they express:

1. You were meant to be back an hour ago! (expresses anger)
2. Jatin! You scared the life out of me! (expresses surprise)
3. Ouch! That hurts! (expresses pain)
4. Look out! The car is coming! (expresses fear)
5. My God, you're adorable! (expresses love)
6. I'm so excited! It's a girl! (expresses joy)
7. I'm really going to miss you! (expresses sorrow)
8. I can't believe it! (expresses disbelief)
9. This is ridiculous! (expresses frustration)
10. That's so impressive!(expresses admiration)

Worksheet of Exclamatory Sentences

Here is a worksheet of exclamatory sentences that tests your punctuation, structure, and syntax skills. You may read the instructions below for the exclamatory sentence example worksheets and assess yourself. Besides, an answer key is also provided at the end of the worksheet.

Instructions:

• Section A: Identify and add exclamation marks to sentences that express strong emotions.
• Section B: Convert declarative sentences into exclamatory sentences using what or how.
• Section C: Rearrange words to form exclamatory sentences.
• Section D: Rewrite these sentences to convey strong emotion.

Here is an example given below for your reference.

Example:

Declarative Sentence: This is a big house.

Exclamatory Sentence: Wow! What a big house this is!

Section A: Punctuation Correction

Directions: Add exclamation marks wherever it is needed.

1. What a stunning view
2. How brave she is
3. I can’t believe you’re here
4. Stop that noise immediately
5. This is the best day ever

Section B: Sentence Transformation

Directions: Declarative sentences are provided here; change them into exclamatory sentences.

1. She is a talented artist.
2. The waterfall is breathtaking.
3. You have a wonderful voice.
4. The news is shocking.
5. He is very generous.

Section C: Word Rearrangement

Directions: Arrange the words to form exclamatory sentences.

1. amazing / What / performance / an!
2. delicious / this / How / tastes / cake!
3. a / beautiful / What / bird!
4. talented / is / How / she!
5. spectacular / jump / What / a!

Section D: Advanced Practice

Directions: Rewrite these sentences to convey strong emotion.

1. The sunset was stunning.
2. You are very lucky.
3. It’s a terrible storm.
4. The concert was fantastic.
5. He is extremely intelligent.

Answers:

1. What a stunning view!
2. How brave she is!
3. I can’t believe you’re here!
4. Stop that noise immediately!
5. This is the best day ever!
6. What a talented artist she is!
7. How breathtaking the waterfall is!
8. What a wonderful voice you have!
9. How shocking the news is!
10. How generous he is!
11. What an amazing performance!
12. How delicious this cake tastes!
13. What a beautiful bird!
14. How talented she is!
15. What a spectacular jump!
16. What a stunning sunset that was!
17. How lucky you are!
18. What a terrible storm it is!
19. What a fantastic concert it was!
20. How intelligent he is!

Conclusion

To wrap up, the blog covered a few examples of exclamatory sentences for your practice. Understanding these sentences is essential as they are considered fundamental to mastering the language. Thus, each student must learn all English grammar rules related to exclamatory sentences. These will help you convey your emotions effectively. Besides, learning these may also help you prepare for various exams and tests. For this, you may seek professional help from Gradding.com as our experts provide excellent coaching in this domain.

FAQ’s

1. What Is an Exclamatory Sentence?

An exclamatory sentence helps you express and convey sudden or strong emotions. These feelings may be joy, sorrow, excitement, anger, frustration, or any such intense feeling. Moreover, it ends with an exclamation mark.

2. What Is the Definition of Exclamatory Sentences?

The exclamatory sentence definition according to the Cambridge Dictionary is “a sentence containing an exclamation or strong emphasis”. Moreover, as per the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, ‘exclamation’ is “the meaning exclamatory is containing, expressing, using, or relating to the exclamation”.

3. What Are the Points to Keep in Mind When Forming Exclamatory Sentences?

The points that you must remember when forming exclamatory sentences are as follows:

You can make use of interjections.

Begin the sentence with exclamatory pronouns like ‘how’ or ‘what’.

End the sentence with an exclamation mark.

4. Give Some Common Words Used in Exclamatory Sentences.

Using exclamatory words can help you express strong emotions and feelings in your writing or speech. Here are a few common words used in exclamatory sentences.

• Wow
• Oh
• Ouch
• Hey
• Yay
• Congratulations