exclamative

Exclamative refers to a grammatical category used to express strong emotion, surprise, admiration, or emphasis. In linguistics it is described as an exclamative mood or as an exclamative clause type. It occurs in many languages with varying realizations: some have a dedicated exclamative mood marked by particles or inflection; others rely on specialized word orders or intonation. English exclamative clauses commonly begin with what or how, as in What a beautiful day! or How tall she is! Other exclamatives include Such was her courage and What a day.

Across languages, exclamatives may appear as standalone clauses or as exclamative content within larger sentences, and they may interact with other sentence types such as declaratives or questions. In languages with a formal exclamative mood, markers may be particles, affixes, or special clitic forms that encode the exclamative force.

Exclamatives are distinct from interjections. Exclamatives are syntactic constructions that convey affect within a sentence, whereas interjections are usually independent utterances or words such as Wow or Oh no. Some exclamatives overlap with emphatic or rhetorical constructions, and their exact status can vary by language.

Examples beyond English include Spanish Qué día tan bonito and French Quelle belle journée!, which illustrate how exclamative form can arise through determiners or adjectives that heighten emotional impact.

See also: Exclamation, interjection, mood, intonation.