Basic Details
Word: Exclamatory
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Showing strong feeling such as surprise, joy or anger. An exclamatory sentence ends with an exclamation mark.
How to Spell Exclamatory
Syllables: ex - clam - a - to - ry
Tricky part: Exclaim loses its i in exclamatory, so exclaimatory is wrong. The vowel before tory is a, not i.
Watch out for: exclaimatory, exclamitory, exclamatary
Memory tip: Exclaim drops its i here, just as proclaim does in proclamation: excl-am, not excl-aim.
Usage Examples
Example 1: Our teacher asked us to write five exclamatory sentences about the fireworks.
Example 2: An exclamatory sentence often begins with What or How.
Example 3: Ma said my essay had too many exclamatory lines and asked me to calm it down.
Fun Fact
Printers in the 1600s and 1700s often called the exclamation mark the note of admiration.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Only one word in the list is spelt correctly. Choose the meaning of that word.
1. exclamatory 2. imperitive 3. interogative 4. declarativ
a) making a plain statement
b) giving an order or making a request
c) asking a question
d) expressing strong feeling or surprise
Show answer
d) expressing strong feeling or surprise. Look at the middles and endings: interrogative needs rr, imperative has an a after r, declarative ends in e. Only exclamatory survives.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct letters to form a word:
excl_m_tory
a) a, e
b) a, a
c) a, i
d) e, a
Show answer
b) a, a. Both missing vowels are a: ex-clam-a-to-ry.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the word in the sentence and choose it:
Rahul's diary was full of ratomacylex lines about the day his team won.
a) exclamation
b) explanatory
c) exclamatory
d) exploratory
Show answer
c) exclamatory. Explanatory and exploratory both need a p, and exclamation an i and n, so the jumble gives exclamatory.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these should end with an exclamation mark?
a) The shop opens at nine
b) Please close the door
c) Where is my school bag
d) What a lovely surprise this is
Show answer
d) What a lovely surprise this is
2. Exclamatory is the adjective linked to which verb?
a) exclude
b) exclaim
c) excel
d) explain
Show answer
b) exclaim
