Definition:
A sentence that expresses strong feelings by making an exclamation. (Compare with sentences that make a statement, express a command, or ask a question.) See also: Basic Sentence Structures.
Etymology:
From the Latin, "to call"Examples and Observations:
- What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god!"
(William Shakespeare, Hamlet) - "What other dungeon is so dark as one's own heart! What jailer so inexorable as one's self!"
(Nathaniel Hawthorne) - "What a grand thing, to be loved! What a grander thing still, to love!"
(Victor Hugo) - "To find the subject of an exclamatory sentence that is not a statement, a question, or a command, ask yourself, "About what does the sentence exclaim?" How swiftly the eagle flies! is an exclamatory sentence that does not make a simple statement, nor ask a question, nor give a command, but you will readily see that the predicate is about the eagle, so the eagle is the subject."
(Pearson and Kirchwey, Essentials of English, 1914) - "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams!"
(Henry David Thoreau) - "Calgon! Take me away!"
(advertising slogan) - "All I can say about life is, Oh God, enjoy it!"
(Bob Newhart) - "If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank."
(Woody Allen) - "How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!"
(Maya Angelou) - "As brother Nietzsche said, being human is a complicated gig. Give that old dark night of the soul a hug! Howl the eternal yes!"
(Stuart Stevens, Northern Exposure) - "I can't believe it! Reading and writing actually paid off!"
(The Simpsons) - "If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it!"
(Jonathan Winters)
Pronunciation: ek-SKLAM-eh-tor-ee SENT-ens
Also Known As: exclamative clause
