Verbatim quote · defining passage

“Intervening between the imperative and the declarative is the interrogative; an interrogative is a softened imperative, which is to say, an imperative coming to recognize that it might not be fulfilled, and therefore transitioning from a command to do something to a demand for information regarding the possibility of doing it.”

— Adam Katz, More on the Proper Use of Declarative Sentences · Jan 2019 · GABlog