The funny thing is, the sentence you just read is an example of a declarative sentence! But do you know what a declarative actually is and why it is used? Don’t worry if not … In this explanation we will look at declaratives in relation to speech acts, and the effects they have, and look at declarative sentences and the different ways you can form them.
What is a Speech Act?
A speech act is an utterance that has a purpose in communication. Whenever we speak, we are also carrying out an action. These actions are called illocutionary acts, which are broken down into five categories: assertive, directive, commissive, expressive and declarative.
Declarative Speech Act Definition
In relation to Searle's speech acts, a declarative is an utterance used by a speaker with the purpose of changing a situation in some way once the speech act has been uttered. Declarations can bring about a change in the world. For example, "I now declare you husband and wife."
There are two types of declaratory act: verdictives and effectives.
According to Herbert Clark (1996), verdictives refer to the judgments that are ruled and decisions that are made in institutions. The person giving these verdicts will do so based on the actions of the addressee.1
Verdictives refer to judgements and decisions that are ruled and made in institutions. - pixabay
A referee giving a yellow card in a football match.
A judge saying "I find this person to be guilty"
Effectives refer to situations that happen due to an utterance being made.
Getting fired is an example of an effective as it is something that happens in response to an utterance being made. - pixabay
A teacher saying "Class has finished"
An employer saying "You're fired"
Direct vs Indirect Declaratives
A direct speech act refers to when the structure of an utterance has a direct relationship to the function. So let's break down the declarative:
Example utterance: "You opened a book."
Structure: Declarative.
Function: Statement.
This declarative is an example of direct speech as it conveys information that is easily understood and has a straightforward meaning. It simply does what it says it will!
BUT there are exceptions... Not all declaratives are direct. It is possible for a declarative to be said as a request. For example, if we take the utterance:
"You haven't done the dusting yet."
This could be seen as a request, as although it expresses a fact, it is an indirect way of letting someone know that they should do the dusting! So in this case, it is an 'indirect' request.
What is a Declarative Sentence
A declarative sentence is a sentence that makes a statement to convey information.
A declarative sentence is the most common sentence type in English!
When is a Declarative Sentence Used?
A declarative sentence is used when someone wants to express a fact, give some information, or explain something.
It is also important to remember that a declarative sentence:
Ends with a full stop.
Can be written in the past, present or future tense.
A declarative sentence always consists of (at least) a subject and a verb.
The subject of a sentence refers to the noun (such as a person or a thing) that is doing an action.
A verb could refer to the main verb, an auxiliary verb, a modal verb, or a combination of these.
In the following declarative sentences, the subject is highlighted in red and the verb phrase is highlighted in green.
“Jackis swimming”
“Iwill write”
“She was laughing”
These are all examples of direct declarative sentences because they make a statement that gives someone information in a clear way. However, as previously mentioned, not all declaratives need to be direct; some are indirect!
Can you think of any examples?
How about declarative sentences with different types of objects and modifiers?
The following are some examples of declarative sentences that contain direct objects.
A direct object is a noun that is the receiver of the action of a verb.
Declarative sentences can also include other modifiers after a verb phrase, such as adverbials. These are used to provide more information about the verb. For example:
Subject
Verb phrase
Adverbial
I
am walking
slowly.
Mary
was sleeping
in her bed.
George
reads
quickly.
My dog
was waiting
in the car.
Adverbials in a declarative sentence can also be added after a direct object, for example:
Subject
Verb Phrase
Direct object
Adverbial
Betty
is holding
an egg
carefully.
My cat
bites
the mouse
viciously.
I
place
a pillow
on my bed.
He
will eat
his dinner
in an hour.
In some instances, either the object or adverbial can be removed, as the sentence will still make grammatical sense. For example, if we take the sentence:
“He will eat his dinner in an hour”
We can remove the object, which is his dinner:
“He will eat in an hour”
This still makes sense!
Or, we can remove the adverbial, which is in an hour:
“He will eat his dinner”
This also makes sense.
Further, objects can be replaced by complements, which are used to complete the meaning of a sentence. For example:
Subject
Verb phrase
Complement
The food
was
delicious.
The car
is
red.
My homework
is
boring.
I
will start
first.
Whenever complements are used, the sentence cannot make sense without them as they are used to complete it. For example, if we take the following sentence:
“The food was delicious”
Removing the complement will lead to:
“The food was”
This is not a declarative sentence as it does not make a statement that makes sense grammatically and so does not express a completed thought!
Declarative - Key Takeaways
A declarative speech act refers to utterances that directly change a situation once it has been uttered.
Declaratives can be divided into verdictives (judgements made within institutions) and effectives (situations brought about because of an utterance).
A declarative usually uses direct speech, but can also use indirect speech.
A declarative sentence is a statement that expresses information in a direct way.
At the least, a declarative sentence consists of a subject and a verb.
1H. Clark. Using language. 1996.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Declarative
What is a declarative sentence?
A declarative sentence is a sentence that makes a statement.
What punctuation ends a declarative sentence?
A declarative sentence ends with a full stop.
What are verdictive declaratives?
Verdictivesrefer to the judgments that are ruled and decisions that are made in institutions.
What is an 'effective' declarative?
Effectives refer to situations that happen due to an utterance being made.
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