Imperativ

The imperative is a verb form used when giving orders and instructions. It is mostly used to express a request or an order.

The imperative only exists in the 2nd person singular "du", the 2nd person plural "ihr" and in the polite form "Sie", since it only makes sense when people are being addressed directly. Examples:

„Geh jetzt ins Bett!“ (Du) (Go to bed now!)

„Geht bitte raus!“ (Ihr) (Please go out!)

„Gehen Sie in ihr Büro!“ (Sie) (Go to her office!)

A distinction is made between the formal imperative (Sie) and the informal imperative (du, ihr).

Formal imperative

When addressing a person with "Sie", the formal imperative is used. In the formal imperative, the personal pronoun is retained. The conjugated verb (3rd person plural) is simply put first before the personal pronoun. Examples:

"Kommen Sie bitte mit mir mit!" (Please, come with me!)

"Machen Sie die Tür zu!" (Close the door!)

Informal imperative

The personal pronoun is omitted from the informal imperative. A distinction is made between the 2nd person singular "Du" and the 2nd person plural "ihr".

• Singular

The singular form is built from the verb form of the 2nd person singular present tense. The personal ending -st is simply left out.

Examples:

(Du) gib(st) mir das Telefon. → Imperativ: Gib mir das Telefon! (Give me the phone!)

(Du) stell(st) die Schuhe vor die Tür. → Imperativ: Stell die Schuhe vor Tür! (Put your shoes in front of the door!)

For verbs with a stem ending in -s, -ß, -z, -x, only the -t is left out.

Examples:

(Du) küss(t) sie auf die Stirn. → Imperativ: Küss sie auf die Stirn! (Kiss her on the forehead!)

(Du) heiß(t) die Gäste willkommen → Heiß die Gäste willkommen! (Welcome the guests!)

Verbs with a vowel change from "a" to "ä" do not have an Umlaut in the imperative.

Examples:

(Du) fähr(st) mit dem Auto in die Stadt. → Imperativ: Fahr mit dem Auto in die Stadt! (Drive your car to the city!)

• Special forms with the ending -e

Many imperative forms can also be formed with the ending -e. The first variant is more common in spoken language. The second variant is mainly found in the written language.

Examples:

Hör deinem Lehrer gut zu! (Listen carefully to your teacher!)

Höre deinem Lehrer gut zu! (Listen carefully to your teacher!)

• Plural

The plural form is built from the verb form of the 2nd person plural present tense. The personal pronoun is omitted and the ending remains the same.

Examples:

(Ihr) macht Urlaub. → Imperativ: Macht Urlaub! (Take a vacation!)

(Ihr) esst mehr Gemüse. → Imperativ: Esst mehr Gemüse! (Eat more vegetables!)

(Ihr) fahrt mit dem Auto in die Stadt. → Imperativ: Fahrt mit dem Auto in die Stadt! (Drive to the city by car!)

The imperative of irregular verbs

The following verbs are irregular:

Infinitiv	du	ihr	Sie
sein (to be)	Sei lieb!	Seid auf der Hut!	Seien Sie vorsichtig
haben (to have)	Hab keine Angst!	Habt Mitleid!	Haben Sie Erbarmen!
werden (to become)	Werde Mitglied!	Werdet glücklich!	Werden Sie reich!
essen (to eat)	Iss langsamer!	Esst den Fisch!	Essen Sie die Suppe!
geben (to give)	Gib mir auch was ab!	Gebt das Geld zurück!	Geben Sie ihm Recht!
lesen (to read)	Lies es mir vor!	Lest nicht ab!	Lesen Sie den Text!
sehen (to see)	Sieh mal her!	Seht mal nach rechts!	Sehen Sie ihn gut an!