Page 9 - Grammar Glow - 8

(c) While taking an exclamatory form, a sentence loses its interrogative

structure and becomes more or less an assertive sentence.
1. How beautiful is the flower? (Interrogative)

2. How beautiful the flower is! (Exclamatory)

Optative Sentences

(a) Optative sentences convey wishes, prayers, blessings and curses, but there
are no interrogative forms of optative sentences.

(b) An optative sentence always ends in an exclamation mark (!).

(i) If only I were queen! (wish)

(ii) May you win the game! (blessing)
(iii) May God grant you all His gifts! (prayer)

(iv) May you be doomed, O tyrant! (curse)

Test Yourself

I. Arrange each group of jumbled words into an assertive sentence.

1. has / famine / in / a/ town / our / broken out

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2. felt / axe / poor / man / sad / to / very / his / lose / the

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3. spherical / is / shape / the earth / of

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4. not / it / did / at / yesterday / rain / all

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II. Arrange each group of jumbled words into an interrogative sentence.

1. whom / my / see / want / to / you / do

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2. were / late / yesterday / you / why
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3. lesson /done/you/have/your

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