Imperative Structures: Form and Function in“Oliver Twist”

Abstract

This paper intends to shed the light on the forms of the imperative sentences and their pragmatic functions in Oliver Twist due to the interactive nature of the events and the characters of this novel. This novel is found appropriate to fulfill the purpose of this study.The results show that the imperatives are commonly used by the characters of this novel. The base of the verb in particular has a high proportion in this novel. They have different direct and indirect speech acts. Their functions are not limited to orders or requests but they have various functions. The meanings of the utterances depend to a great degree on the context, i.e. on the situation in which these utterances occur and on the intended meaning of the speaker. It is concluded that the imperative utterances are better be analyzed pragmatically.