What does declarative mean?
Word: Declarative
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Declarative means stating something as a fact. In grammar, a declarative sentence is one that makes a statement.
How do you spell declarative?
Syllables: de - clar - a - tive
Tricky part: Declare drops its final e, and the vowel after the r is a. Declaritive and declerative are the usual slips.
Watch out for: declaritive, declerative, declarativ
Memory tip: Link it to declaration, where the a after the r is easy to hear: declar-a-tion, declar-a-tive.
Declarative in a sentence
Example 1: "The sun rises in the east" is a declarative sentence.
Example 2: Our teacher asked us to turn each question into a declarative statement.
Example 3: Most of the sentences in a news report are declarative.
Fun Fact
Declarative goes back to the Latin declarare, to make clear, which is built on clarus, clear: the same root as clarity and clarify.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. exclamatary 2. declarative 3. imperitive 4. interogative
a) asking a question
b) giving an order or making a request
c) expressing strong feeling
d) making a statement of fact
Show answer
d) making a statement of fact. Interrogative needs a double r, imperative an a after the r, and exclamatory an o, so declarative is the correct one.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
declarattive
a) t
b) r
c) v
d) a
Show answer
a) t. Declarative has only one t, in the ending tive.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Change the question into a taeerdclvia sentence by removing the question mark and moving the verb.
a) decorative
b) deliberative
c) declaration
d) declarative
Show answer
d) declarative. The jumble holds no o and no b, so decorative, declaration and deliberative are out.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these is a declarative sentence?
a) What a lovely day!
b) Is it raining?
c) Please shut the door.
d) The train leaves at six.
Show answer
d) The train leaves at six.
2. Which sentence turns "Is the shop open?" into a declarative sentence?
a) Open the shop.
b) The shop is open.
c) Is the shop open now?
d) Who opened the shop?
Show answer
b) The shop is open.
