Imperative sentences with assertive mood

Abstract

Imperative sentences with assertive mood(ISAM), being positioned between typical declarative sentences and typical imperative sentences, appear as declarative sentences, but perform the function of imperative sentences. They are characterized by their verbs indicating action classification and the verbs are named “performative verbs”. The essay firstly explains why an imperative sentence with assertive mood can perform imperative function considering its formation and reveals the way an imperative sentence with assertive mood takes to transform from a declarative sentence to an imperative sentence. Secondly, performative verbs are categorized and their distances with imperative function are presented. Finally, based on the elements attached to the performative verbs, ISAM are classified into four categories.