 Sentence (1a) would typically be used to make an assertion. The speaker would tell or inform a hearer that there is a beer in the fridge. Such an utterance of is called assertoric, or assertive. By contrast, (1b) would be used to ask a question (and the utterance would then be interrogative), (1c) to express a wish (optative), and (1d) to make a command, or a request (imperative). This entry is about utterances of the first kind, and about the speech acts performed by means of them.