Sentence types - Zinstypen

Introduction

Click here for self-correcting exercises on sentence types.
The sentences in the table below describe the same 'event': the person addressed as 'you' walking to the shop. But in each case the 'vehicle' used to deliver that content, the sentence type, is different. As a result, the impact of these sentences on the hearer or reader, the recipient of the message in the sentence, is different.

statement question command

Jij loopt naar de winkel.

Loop jij naar de winkel? Loop naar de winkel!
You are walking to the shop. Are you walking to the shop? Walk to the shop!

The sentence type used to make statements is called >declarative.
The sentence type used to make questions is called >interrogative.
The sentence type used to make command is called >imperative.

The question whether a sentence is active or passive also has an impact on the recipient of the message. That is why this section also looks at >passive sentences.

Declaratives and interrogatives can both occur as active and as passive sentences. Imperatives cannot normally occur as passive sentences.


 declarative interrogative
active De kinderen lezen het boek. Lezen de kinderen het boek?

The children are reading the book. Are the children reading the book?
passive Het boek wordt door de kinderen gelezen. Wordt het boek door de kinderen gelezen?

The book is being read by the children. Is the book being read by the children?

A question like Loop jij naar de winkel? can in some situations be interpreted as a command. Likewise, sentences that have the structure of a command, may function as a statement. In this section on sentence types, we will therefore not only look at the form of different sentences, but also pay attention to the pragmatic effect that certain sentence types can have.

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