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I heard that there are four types of sentences:

  • declarative sentence, for declaration
  • interrogative sentence, for interrogation
  • exclamatory sentence, for exclamation
  • imperative sentence, for ...? There is no such a word as "imperation", and imperativeness seems to not fit well with the other three nouns.
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  • Imperator is THE noun for imperative.
    – DonQuiKong
    Commented Mar 29 at 16:58
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    Imperative sentences are for commands/orders.
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented Mar 29 at 17:35
  • @BillyKerr Can you explain why, then, I got two dvs?
    – Lambie
    Commented Mar 29 at 17:36
  • @Lambie - I've no idea, but I suspect it's because you didn't answer the question? Ask the person who downvoted you, not me.
    – Billy Kerr
    Commented Mar 29 at 17:39
  • @BillyKerr But I did answer the question. I repeated the word for and listed giving orders or commands. Then, not only did I get 4 dvs but a comment that says my answer is not for this question. Astralbee said less than I did and also provided no references and got two uvs.. Well, we can see how some roll here.
    – Lambie
    Commented Mar 29 at 17:41

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"Imperative" is also used as a noun, eg "that a statement is the imperative", although it is technically an abbreviation for 'the imperative mood.

So you could say that imperative sentences are used for the imperative mood, but to be honest that word is not used in everyday speech in the way that 'declaration' and 'exclamation' are. In common speech, we'd use nouns like command, order, or demand.

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  • Imperative sentences are used to give orders, instructions and with please polite requests. The noun as you put it is irrelevant here.
    – Lambie
    Commented Mar 29 at 16:52
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"Declarative" and "declaration" are derived from the verb to declare.
"Interrogative" and "interrogation" are derived from the verb to interrogate.
"Exclamatory" and "exclamation" are derived from the verb to exclaim.

"Imperative" is derived, according to Webster, from Late Latin imperātīvus.  It seems that we borrowed only the past participle, not the entire verb.

There is no "imperation" because there is no verb to impere or to imperar or however that verb might have developed if we had borrowed the base verb in English.  You've found a lexical gap.  English does have a handful of verbs with related meanings, such as to command, to order, to request, to entreat, to instruct, and so on.  If there is a single hypernym that covers all these cases, I have no idea what it might be.

Lexical gaps happen.  You can have your nice and neat rows and columns, but you can't always fill in every cell in the grid.

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Question: imperative sentence, for ...?

for giving orders or commands to someone or to a group, i.e. telling them to do something.

  • Stop fiddling with you food, Johnny. Just eat it.
  • That's our target. Fire at will!
  • Open that window and sit down!

Oh dear, I forgot instructions. With please, it can be a polite request.

Open the window, please.

The imperative mood is used to communicate directly and express commands, requests, or instructions. It is important to consider politeness and context when using the imperative mood. Adding "please" or using a more polite tone can make requests more courteous. Understanding the imperative mood allows you to give clear instructions, make requests effectively, and communicate your needs or desires**.

imperative mood

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    @Lambie I think what the OP is looking for is a word from the same root as imperative, ie with the same relationship as interrogative to interrogation. Order is certainly the right meaning, but it's not from the same root as imperative. I didn't downvote you, btw.
    – JavaLatte
    Commented Mar 31 at 10:33
  • @JavaLatte Well, OPs are very often misguided, aren't they?
    – Lambie
    Commented Mar 31 at 12:57
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    @Lambie true, but not in this case. The OP has asked a good question to which, unfortunately, there is (as far as I know) no answer that satisfies the actual question. You have skirted that problem by answering a simpler question of your own devising.
    – JavaLatte
    Commented Mar 31 at 23:45
  • @JavaLatte There is often a problem in ELL and ELU with questions that cannot be answred as posed due to lack of knowledge. So one does one's best, doesn't one? So, you answer your way and I'll answer mine. How about that?
    – Lambie
    Commented Apr 1 at 12:35

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