Telling and Asking Sentences: Definition, Meaning, Examples and Worksheets

Telling and asking sentences are the building blocks of English communication. A child learns to tell: ‘I am hungry.’ ‘The dog is sleeping.’ ‘She has a red ball.’ And a child learns to ask: ‘Can I have some food?’ ‘Where is the dog?’ ‘Is that your ball?’ Without the ability to recognise and use both types, communication is incomplete.

This page is designed for students and their teachers and parents, with clear definitions, vivid telling and asking sentence examples, a complete telling and asking sentence worksheet and comprehensive FAQs. 

 

Table of Contents

• What are Telling and Asking Sentences?
• Telling and Asking Sentence Examples: Side by Side
• How to Identify Telling and Asking Sentences
• Telling and Asking Sentences Worksheet
• Frequently Asked Questions about Telling and Asking Sentences

 

What are Telling and Asking Sentences?

 

 

What are telling and asking sentences is the central question this page answers. Here is the direct answer:

• A telling sentence tells us something. It gives information about a person, animal, place or thing.
• An asking sentence asks something. It requests information or poses a question.

These are the two most important sentence types for beginning English learners. Together, they cover the majority of sentences a young student will read and write.

Telling and Asking Sentence Meaning

Understanding the telling and asking sentence meaning clearly is important before moving on to examples.

Telling Sentence Meaning

A telling sentence means a sentence that gives information or states a fact. It tells the reader or listener something about the world. It does not ask a question. It simply states.

The telling sentence meaning can be thought of this way: if someone asks you ‘what happened?’ and you answer, your answer is a telling sentence.

a) Preethi is reading a storybook. → This tells us what Preethi is doing.

 

 

b) The man is selling hotdogs. → This tells us what the man is doing.

 

 

Asking Sentence Meaning

An asking sentence means a sentence that asks for information. It needs a response from the listener or reader. It ends with a question mark.

The asking sentence meaning can be thought of this way: if you need to know something and you form your need into words, that is an asking sentence.

a) What are you cooking, mother? → This asks what is being cooked.

 

b) Did you call your father? → This asks whether a call was made.

 

 

Telling and Asking Sentence Examples: Side by Side

One of the best ways to understand telling and asking sentence examples is to see them compared directly. The following table shows the same idea expressed as a telling sentence and an asking sentence.

 

Telling Sentence	Asking Sentence
She is reading a book.	Is she reading a book?
He plays cricket.	Does he play cricket?
The dog is barking.	Why is the dog barking?
You can swim.	Can you swim?
She has a new dress.	Does she have a new dress?
They are going to school.	Are they going to school?
It is raining outside.	Is it raining outside?
He went to the market.	Did he go to the market?
The sun rises in the east.	Where does the sun rise?
Her name is Riya.	What is her name?
You like mangoes.	Do you like mangoes?
The bird can sing.	Can the bird sing?

 

How to Identify Telling and Asking Sentences

The following step-by-step guide helps students identify whether a sentence is a telling sentence or an asking sentence.

Step 1: Look at the End of the Sentence

• Full stop (.) → very likely a telling sentence
• Question mark (?) → definitely an asking sentence
• The cat is sleeping. → full stop → telling sentence
• Is the cat sleeping? → question mark → asking sentence

Step 2: Look at the Beginning of the Sentence

• Does it begin with a question word (What, Where, When, Who, Why, How)? → It is an asking sentence.
• Does it begin with an auxiliary verb (Is, Are, Do, Does, Did, Can, Will)? → It is an asking sentence.
• Does it begin with a name, noun or pronoun as the subject (She, He, The, My, A)? → It is likely a telling sentence.

Step 3: Ask Yourself, ‘Does this Sentence Need an Answer?’

• If yes → it is an asking sentence.
• If no, it simply states something → it is a telling sentence.

Step 4: Check the Word Order

• Subject + Verb = Telling (She is happy.)
• Auxiliary + Subject + Verb = Asking (Is she happy?)

 

Telling and Asking Sentences Worksheet

The following section provides a complete telling and asking sentences worksheet for students. These exercises can be used in class, printed as homework or used as revision articles.

A. Read each sentence. Write T if it is a telling sentence and A if it is an asking sentence.

1. The rabbit is eating a carrot. ____
2. Where is your lunch box? ____
3. My grandmother tells good stories. ____
4. Can you tie your shoelaces? ____
5. The sky has many stars at night. ____
6. Do you like ice cream? ____
7. She has a pink umbrella. ____
8. Why are you late? ____
9. Birds have wings and feathers. ____
10. Is this your pencil? ____

B. Add a full stop (.) or a question mark (?) to complete each sentence/

1. The dog is sleeping in the garden ____
2. What is your favourite subject ____
3. She has a new pair of shoes ____
4. Are you coming to school tomorrow ____
5. My father is a doctor ____
6. Where did you keep my book ____
7. We eat lunch at one o’clock ____
8. Can the cat climb a tree ____
9. The flowers are yellow and white ____
10. Who is standing at the door ____

C. Read each sentence. If it is written correctly, put a tick (✓). If it is written incorrectly, put a cross (✘) and write the correction.

1. She went to the park yesterday?
2. What is your mother’s name?
3. he has a blue water bottle.
4. The baby is crying.
5. Where are you going.
6. My school has a big garden.
7. did you finish your homework?
8. It is raining outside?

D. Change each telling sentence into an asking sentence and each asking sentence into a telling sentence.

1. She likes bananas. → ___________________________________
2. Is he your brother? → ___________________________________
3. The cat is sitting on the wall. → ___________________________________
4. Can she ride a bicycle? → ___________________________________
5. They are going to the zoo. → ___________________________________
6. Did he eat his lunch? → ___________________________________

E. Write two telling sentences and two asking sentences about your school.

1. Telling sentence 1: ___________________________________
2. Telling sentence 2: ___________________________________
3. Asking sentence 1: ___________________________________
4. Asking sentence 2: ___________________________________