you been to Paris? Second are wh-questions such as what is your name? and the
third is the alternative question such as would you like steak or chicken? When people perform directives, sometimes they may say in declarative,
imperative, or interrogative. Holmes in Richards and Schmidt 1984:98 divides the directives speech acts into three major classifications based on their form:
a. Imperatives
Imperative form is the most frequently occurring realizations of directive expression in direct speech act. Holmes in Richards and Schmidt 1984:98 states
that the imperative sentence tends to occur as realizations of directives in address to subordinates. It can be concluded that imperative sentence usually exist and
uses by the speaker who has higher authority than the hearer. Holmes in Richards Schmidt 1984: 98-102 also mentions that there are six structural variants of
imperative sentences: i. Base form of Verb
e.g.: ‘Speak up’, ‘don’t shout out’, ‘have a look at the picture’ ii. You + Imperative
e.g.: ‘You look here’, ‘you go on with your work’, ‘you just see the picture’ iii. Present Participle form of Verb
e.g.: ‘Just listening’, ‘looking at me’, ‘looking this way’ iv. Verb-ellipsis
e.g.: ‘Hands up’, ‘now this one’, ‘everybody on the mat’ v. Imperative + Modifier
e.g.: ‘Children looking this way please’, ‘put your hands on your hips everyone’
vi. Let + First Person Pronoun e.g.: ‘Let’s finish there’, ‘let’s see who can sit down quickly’
b. Interrogatives
There are two major interrogative sentences that can be identified based on Holmes in Richards and Schmidt 1984:103-104, first is modals and second is
non-modal interrogative directives .
i. Modals e.g.: ‘Would you open the window?’, ‘can you read what it says for me?’
ii. Non-modal Interrogative Directives e.g.: ‘Have you tried it?’, ‘Who can I see sitting quietly?
c. Declaratives
Holmes in Richards Schmidt 1984:105-106 also states that declarative directives are divided into two contrasting categories according to their relative
explicitness and the amount of inference required interpreting the directive intent, they are:
i. Embedded Agent This category can be identified by the fact that the agent and usually the
required activity are expressed explicitly in an embedded or subordinate clause. In many cases, the clause such as ‘I want’ or ‘I’d like’ are categorized as declarative
directives, e.g.: ‘I’d like everyone sitting on the mat’; ‘I want you to draw a picture’. This form usually occurs in two types of setting, first is the transactional
work setting, where who is to do what is very clear and a statement of need or desire by a superior implied an obligation on the part of the subordinate. Second,
this form occurs in families, when solicitude on the part of the hearer could be assumed.
ii. Hints Hints require addressees to infer what is required from their knowledge of
the rules for appropriate behavior in the context, for example: ‘Kelly’s hand is up’ and ‘I’m not going to do it by myself.’
4. Direct and Indirect Speech Acts a. Direct Speech Act
