What punctuation mark ends an imperative sentence?

An imperative sentence ends with a period or an exclamation point. For example, “Please close the door.” uses a period, while “Stop!” uses an exclamation point to show urgency or strong emotion.

Imperatives give commands, instructions, advice, requests, or warnings. Their subject is often an unstated “you,” as in “Listen carefully.” The punctuation depends on tone: a period presents the command neutrally or politely, while an exclamation point adds force. The sentence type comes from its purpose, not simply from its final mark.

A common mix-up is assuming every command must end with an exclamation point. In standard writing, that would make ordinary instructions seem unnecessarily forceful. “Mix the ingredients.” is an imperative just as much as “Watch out!” A question mark generally belongs to an interrogative sentence, although a polite request phrased as a question—“Could you sit down?”—is grammatically interrogative rather than a straightforward imperative.

The imperative is traditionally described as one of English’s four main sentence moods or types, alongside declarative, interrogative, and exclamatory forms. In American English, “exclamation point” is common; British English often says “exclamation mark.”