exclamatives

Exclamatives are a class of utterances that express strong emotion such as surprise, admiration, anger, or emphasis. They can take the form of exclamative sentences, exclamatory phrases, or single interjections, and they are often marked by distinctive intonation, morphology, or mood in different languages. In many languages, exclamatives are distinct from questions and declaratives, though they can be built from the same words.

In English, exclamatives commonly fall into two patterns. Exclamative constructions with What or How, such as What a beautiful day or How fast she runs, express degree or quality and are often followed by a noun phrase or adjective. Bare exclamatives like What a mess or What nonsense are elliptical forms that omit auxiliary verbs. Interjections such as Oh!, Wow!, or Alas! function as standalone exclamatives or as preludes to longer clauses. Exclamatives can also appear with enclosing clauses, as in I can’t believe how tall he is.

Cross-linguistically, exclamatives may rely on dedicated mood markers, particles, or clitic pronouns, or rely solely on intonation. Some languages have a formal exclamative mood distinct from the interrogative and declarative moods; others mark exclamatives with punctuation and prosody rather than morphology.

Usage and function: Exclamatives convey evaluative stance, emotion, or emphasis and can function as emphatic responses, expressions of awe or praise, or complaints. They are common in informal speech and in rhetoric, and they contribute to discourse by signaling stance and focus.