‘Affirmative sentences’ – are they assertive sentences? Can affirmative sentences be a compound sentence or a complex sentence? Find answers to these questions and learn all about affirmative sentences, their meaning, definition, formation and usage along with examples in this article. Furthermore, try out the practice exercise given to test your understanding of everything you learn in this article.
Table of Contents
- What Is an Affirmative Sentence? – Meaning and Definition
- How to Make an Affirmative Sentence? – All You Need to Know
- Difference between Affirmative Sentences and Negative Sentences
- Examples of Affirmative Sentences
- Check Your Understanding of Affirmative Sentences
- Frequently Asked Questions on Affirmative Sentences in English
What Is an Affirmative Sentence? – Meaning and Definition
An affirmative sentence, as the name suggests, is a sentence structure that affirms a proposition, a day-to-day action, an idea, a request or a random thought. In simpler terms, it can be said that an affirmative sentence is a positive statement. The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar defines an affirmative sentence as a sentence “stating that a fact is so; answering ‘yes’ to a question put or implied”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an affirmative sentence as one ”asserting that the fact is so”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, “an affirmative clause is positive and does not contain a negative word.”
How to Make an Affirmative Sentence? – All You Need to Know
Forming an affirmative sentence is a simple task. All that you need to do is to see to it that the statement is positive. If you are wondering what the sentence structure of an affirmative sentence might be or what type of sentence it is, here is the answer. An affirmative sentence can be a declarative or assertive sentence, and it can be either a simple, complex or compound sentence as long as it is positive.
For example:
- I flew a kite.
- Freeda likes chocolate pancakes.
- Ravi met his school friends unexpectedly at the mall last evening.
- As soon as my father saw me, he hugged me.
- Shaun works as a surgeon and Lea works as an IT professional at the San Jose International Hospital.
Note that all the above sentences can be considered as affirmative sentences.
Difference between Affirmative Sentences and Negative Sentences
Learning the differences between an affirmative sentence and a negative sentence can make things easier for you. So, here is a table with the factors that make an affirmative sentence different from a negative sentence.
| Affirmative Sentence | Negative Sentence |
| An affirmative sentence is any sentence that is positive. | A negative sentence is a sentence that represents a negative thought, action or opinion. |
| It can be an assertive sentence or a declarative sentence which has no negative words. | It is a statement with the word ‘not’ after the verb. |
| For example: I like chocolate cakes. | For example: I do not like chocolate cakes. |
Examples of Affirmative Sentences
Given below are a few examples of affirmative sentences for your reference.
- I have a puppy.
- My brother bought fifty varieties of fighter fish.
- There is a three-storeyed house in the corner of the street.
- Manu is the new manager.
- Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
- My phone has two displays.
- The teacher gave us our marksheets.
- It has been raining since yesterday morning.
- Miya is my best friend.
- She is wearing a black saree.
Check Your Understanding of Affirmative Sentences
Read through the following sentences and identify which of them are affirmative and which of them are not.
1. The new office looks great.
2. We were not happy with the changes made.
3. Adharsh and Akash are twins.
4. The weather reports say that it will rain today.
5. I have twenty boxes of cupcakes left.
6. Gourav does not like dark chocolate.
7. They were not convinced even though we provided them with all the pros and cons of the proposition.
8. My uncle bought me a huge teddy bear for my birthday.
9. Kevin is not working at the school anymore.
10. The teacher taught us how to solve trigonometric equations today.
Check the answers given below to see if you identified the affirmative sentences correctly.
1. The new office looks great. – Affirmative sentence
2. We were not happy with the changes made. – Negative sentence
3. Adharsh and Akash are twins. – Affirmative sentence
4. The weather reports say that it will rain today. – Affirmative sentence
5.I have twenty boxes of cupcakes left. – Affirmative sentence
6. Gourav does not like dark chocolate. – Negative sentence
7. They were not convinced even though we provided them with all the pros and cons of the proposition. – Negative sentence
8. My uncle bought me a huge teddy bear for my birthday. – Affirmative sentence
9. Kevin is not working at the school anymore. – Negative sentence
10. The teacher taught us how to solve trigonometric equations today. – Affirmative sentence
Also explore how to transform an affirmative sentence to a negative sentence and try out exercises on the transformation of affirmative sentences into negative sentences.
Frequently Asked Questions on Affirmative Sentences in English
What is an affirmative sentence?
An affirmative sentence, as the name suggests, is a sentence structure that affirms a proposition, a day-to-day action, an idea, a request or a random thought. In simpler terms, it can be said that an affirmative sentence is a positive statement.
What is the definition of an affirmative sentence?
The Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar defines an affirmative sentence as a sentence “stating that a fact is so; answering ‘yes’ to a question put or implied”. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines an affirmative sentence as one ”asserting that the fact is so”, and according to the Collins Dictionary, “an affirmative clause is positive and does not contain a negative word.”
Give five examples of affirmative sentences.
Here are five examples of affirmative sentences for your reference.
- My brother bought fifty varieties of fighter fish.
- There is a three-storeyed house on the street.
- It has been raining since yesterday morning.
- I have a puppy.
- There is a grocery store in front of my school.
