Use Declarative Sentences

Some excellent writing advice from Libby Sommer…
Thanks, Libby!

Libby Sommer, Author

speech bubble: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse Pinterest image

This declarative sentence was spoken by Don Corleone (played by Marlon Brando) in the movie The Godfather (1972).

It is not uncommon for women and other minority groups to add qualifiers to their statements. Such as ‘Parents need to stop organising every minute of their children’s spare time, don’t you think?’ ‘I loved that movie, didn’t you?’ In our sentence structure we look for reinforcement for our thoughts and opinions. We don’t always make declarative statements. ‘This is wonderful.’ ‘This is a catastrophe.’ We look for re-enforcement from others.

Another thing we do without realising it, is use indefinite modifiers in our speech:  perhaps, maybe, somehow. ‘Maybe I’ll take a trip somewhere.’ As if the speaker has no power to make a decision. ‘Perhaps it will change.’ Again, not a clear declarative sentence like, ‘Yes, nothing stays the same.’

It is important for us as…

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About DrEMiller

Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT). Home: Sint Maarten. K-12 teacher for 13 years (Special Education for 10 years); Post-secondary educator since 2002; Education consulting since 1995. When teaching, held teaching certificates in K-12 special education, reading specialist; and secondary social studies. Doctorate: Educational Psychology Programmer/analyst for 10 years, including project management and training of corporate execs.
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5 Responses to Use Declarative Sentences

  1. finkelstein says:

    Do you think that ‘like’ as in ‘and I was like…’ is a qualifier too?

    • DrEMiller says:

      “Like” as a qualifier is not good grammar, unless expressing a simile. Otherwise, it is much like “um,” “er,” “uh,” and other filler sounds used to fill the “dead space” in an utterance as the speaker searches for the next word or phrase to say. Hope that answers your question. 😀

  2. Lynn Love says:

    Good post and some sound advice. Thanks for sharing 🙂

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