Theimperative mood is agrammatical mood that forms a command or request.
The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. They are sometimes calleddirectives, as they include a feature that encodes directive force, and another feature that encodes modality of unrealized interpretation.[1][2]
An example of averb used in the imperative mood is theEnglish phrase "Go." Such imperatives imply asecond-person subject (you), but some other languages also have first- and third-person imperatives, with the meaning of "let's (do something)" or "let them (do something)" (the forms may alternatively be calledcohortative andjussive).
Imperative mood can be denoted by theglossing abbreviationIMP. It is one of theirrealis moods.
Imperative mood is often expressed using specialconjugated verb forms. Like otherfinite verb forms, imperatives often inflect forperson andnumber. Second-person imperatives (used for ordering or requesting performance directly from the person being addressed) are most common, but some languages also have imperative forms for the first and third persons (alternatively calledcohortative andjussive respectively).
InEnglish, the imperative is formed using the bareinfinitive form of the verb (seeEnglish verbs for more details). This is usually also the same as the second-person presentindicative form, except in the case of the verbto be, where the imperative isbe while the indicative isare. (The presentsubjunctive always has the same form as the imperative, although it isnegated differently – the imperative is negated usingdo not, as in "Don't touch me!"; seedo-support. Occasionallydo is not used:Dare not touch me!) The imperative form is understood as being in the second person (the subjectpronounyou is usually omitted, although it can be included for emphasis), with no explicit indication of singular or plural. First and third person imperatives are expressedperiphrastically, using a construction with the imperative of the verblet:
Other languages such asLatin,French andGerman have a greater variety ofinflected imperative forms, marked for person and number, their formation often depending on a verb's conjugation pattern. Examples can be found in the specific language sections below. In languages that make aT–V distinction (tu vs.vous,du vs.Sie,tu vs.você,tú vs.usted, etc.) the use of particular forms of the second person imperative may also be dependent on the degree of familiarity between the speaker and the addressee, as with other verb forms.
The second person singular imperative often consists of just the stem of the verb, without any ending.
For example,Te Reo Māori has the imperativeme, which in addition to being put in front of sentences to command (e.g.Me horoi ō ringaringa; "(you must) wash your hands"), is used to assert the imperative mood in sentences that would be translated as "let's (let us)" in English. An example of this isMe haere tāua, which translates to "let us (you and me) go", but the "us" component goes last.[3]
Imperative sentences sometimes use differentsyntax than declarative or other types of clauses. There may also be differences of syntax between affirmative andnegative imperative sentences. In some cases the imperative form of the verb is itself different when negated. A distinct negative imperative form is sometimes said to be inprohibitive mood (abbreviatedPROH).
Negative imperatives tell the subject to not do something. They usually begin with the verb "don't" or the negative form of a verb. e.g., example, "Don't be like that."
Many languages, even not normallynull-subject languages, omit the subject pronoun in imperative sentences, as usually occurs in English (seebelow). Details of the syntax of imperative sentences in certain other languages, and of differences between affirmative and negative imperatives, can be found in some of the other specific language sections below.
In writing, imperative phrases and sentences may terminate in anexclamation mark (!).
Imperatives are used principally for ordering, requesting or advising the listener to do (or not to do) something: "Put down the gun!", "Pass me the sauce", "Don't go too near the tiger." They are also often used for giving instructions as to how to perform a task: "Install the file, then restart your computer". They can sometimes be seen on signs giving orders or warnings "Stop", "Give way", "Do not enter".
The use of the imperative mood may be seen as impolite, inappropriate or even offensive in certain circumstances.[4] In polite speech, orders or requests are often phrased instead as questions or statements, rather than as imperatives:
Politeness strategies (for instance,indirect speech acts) can seem more appropriate in order not to threaten a conversational partner in their needs of self-determination and territory: the partner'snegative face should not appear threatened.[clarification needed][5] As well as the replacement of imperatives with other sentence types as discussed above, there also often exist methods of phrasing an imperative in a more polite manner, such as the addition of a word likeplease; or a phrase likeif you could; or substituting onedirective for another, as in the change fromwill tomay e.g, "you will do that" becomes "you may / can do that".
Imperatives are also used for speech acts whose function is not primarily to make an order or request, but to give an invitation, give permission, express a wish, make an apology, et cetera:
When written, imperative sentences are often, but not always, terminated with anexclamation mark.
First person plural imperatives (cohortatives) are used mainly for suggesting an action to be performed together by the speaker and the addressee (and possibly other people): "Let's go to Barbados this year", "Let us pray". Third person imperatives (jussives) are used to suggest or order that a third party or parties be permitted or made to do something: "Let them eat cake", "Let him be executed".
There is an additional imperative form that is used for general prohibitions, consisting of the word "no" followed by thegerund form. The best known examples are "No Smoking" and "No Parking". This form does not have a positive form; that is, "Parking" by itself has no meaning unless used as anoun when it tells that parking is permitted.
The following sentences demonstrate several different forms of the imperative mood.[6]
For more details on imperatives in the languages listed below, and in languages that are not listed, see the articles on the grammar of the specific languages.
Latin regular imperatives include:
| infinitive | 2nd person singular | 2nd person plural |
|---|---|---|
| amāre (to love) | amā | amāte |
| monēre (to advise/warn) | monē | monēte |
| audīre (to hear) | audī | audīte |
The negative imperative is formed with the infinitive of the verb, preceded by the imperative ofnōlle (to not want):
| negative imperative | positive imperative | |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd person singular | nōlī stāre (don't stand) | stā (stand) |
| 2nd person plural | nōlīte stāre | stāte |
For third-person imperatives, the subjunctive mood is used instead.
In Latin there is a peculiar tense in the imperative, which is the future tense that is used when you want the mandate to be fulfilled in the future. This tense is used mainly in laws, wills, precepts, etc. However, it is conjugated only with the third and second person singular and plural which carries as agramme or ending-tō for the second and third person singular,-tōte for the second person plural and-ntō for the third person plural. On the other hand, in other languages of the world there is a distinctive imperative, which also has a future value, but with a previous meaning and this is the so-calledpast imperative that appears in the French and Greek languages as a point of reference. SeeLatin conjugation.
| amare | delere | legere | audire | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | 2nd person | amatō | delētō | legītō | audītō |
| 3rd person | amatō | delētō | legītō | audītō | |
| plural | 2nd person | amātōte | delētōte | legītōte | audītōte |
| 3rd person | amantō | delentō | leguntō | audiuntō | |
Sentence examples of the future imperative:
English usually omits the subject pronoun in imperative sentences:
However, it is possible to include theyou in imperative sentences for emphasis.
English imperatives are negated usingdon't (as in "Don't work!") This is a case ofdo-support as found in indicative clauses; however in the imperative it applies even in the case of the verbbe (which does not usedo-support in the indicative):
It is also possible to usedo-support in affirmative imperatives, for emphasis or (sometimes) politeness: "Do be quiet!", "Do help yourself!".
The subjectyou may be included for emphasis in negated imperatives as well, followingdon't: "Don't you dare do that again!"
A peculiar feature ofDutch is that it can form an imperative mood in thepluperfect tense. Its use is fairly common:[7]
German verbs have a singular and a plural imperative. The singular imperative is equivalent to the bare stem or the bare stem +-e. (In most verbs, both ways are correct.) The plural imperative is the same as the second-person plural of the present tense.
In order to emphasize their addressee, German imperatives can be followed by thenominative personal pronounsdu ("thou; youSG") orihr ("youPL"), respectively. For example: "Geh weg!" – "Gehdu doch weg!" ("Go away!" – "Why,you go away!").
German hasT/V distinction, which means that the pronounsdu andihr are used chiefly towards persons with whom one is privately acquainted, which holds true for the corresponding imperatives. (For details seeGerman grammar.) Otherwise, the social-distance pronounSie (you) is used for both singular and plural. Since there exists no actual imperative corresponding toSie, the form is paraphrased with the third-person plural of the presentsubjunctive followed by the pronoun:
Occasionally, theinfinitive (Infinitiv orInfinitiv als Imperativ) may be used as a mild or polite imperative, in order to avoid directly addressing the person or to simplify the sentence's construction. Although sometimes used in spoken language, this form is most commonly used in general instructions and recipes. Examples include:
Like English, German features many constructions that express commands, wishes, etc. They are thussemantically related to imperatives without being imperatives grammatically:
Examples of regular imperatives in French aremanges (2SG),mangez (2PL) andmangeons (1PL, "let's eat"), frommanger (to eat) – these are similar or identical to the corresponding present indicative forms, although there are some irregular imperatives that resemble the present subjunctives, such assois,soyez andsoyons, fromêtre (to be). A third person imperative can be formed using a subjunctive clause with the conjunctionque, as inqu'ils mangent de la brioche (let them eat cake).
French uses different word order for affirmative and negative imperative sentences:
The negative imperative (prohibitive) has the same word order as the indicative. SeeFrench personal pronouns § Clitic order for detail.Like in English, imperative sentences often end with an exclamation mark, e.g. to emphasize an order.
In French there is a very distinctive imperative which is the imperative mood ofpreterite tense also called (past imperative or imperative offuture perfect), expresses a given order with previous future value which must be executed or fulfilled in afuture not immediate, as if it were an action to come, but earlier in relation to another that will also happen in the future. However, this type of imperative is peculiar to French which has only one purpose: to order that something be done before the date or time, therefore, this will always be accompanied by acircumstantial complement of time. However, this imperative is formed with the auxiliary verb of theavoir compound tenses and with the auxiliary verbêtre that is also used to form the tenses composed of the pronominal verbs and some of the intransitive verbs, this means that the structure of the verb imperative in its entirety is composed.
| with the auxiliaryavoir | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| aimer | finir | ouvrir | recevoir | rendre | mettre | |
| 2SG | aie aimé | aie fini | aie ouvert | aie reçu | aie rendu | aie mis |
| 1PL | ayons aimé | ayons fini | ayons ouvert | ayons reçu | ayons rendu | ayons mis |
| 2PL | ayez aimé | ayez fini | ayez ouvert | ayez reçu | ayez rendu | ayez mis |
| with the auxiliaryêtre | ||||||
| aller | partir | venir | mourir | naître | devenir | |
| 2SG | sois allé | sois parti | sois venu | sois mort | sois né | sois devenu |
| 1PL | soyons allés | soyons partis | soyons venus | soyons morts | soyons nés | soyons devenus |
| 2PL | soyez allés | soyez partis | soyez venus | soyez morts | soyez nés | soyez devenus |
InEnglish there is no equivalent grammatical structure to form this tense of the imperative mood; it is translated in imperative mood of present with previous value.
In Spanish, imperatives for the familiar singular second person (tú) are usually identical to indicative forms for the singular third person. However, there are irregular verbs for which unique imperative forms fortú exist.vos (alternative totú) usually takes the same forms astú (usually with slightly different emphasis) but unique forms exist for it as well.vosotros (plural familiar second person) also takes unique forms for the imperative.
| Infinitive | 3rd person indicative | imperative | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tú | vos | usted | vosotros / vosotras | ustedes | ||
| comer | come | come | comé* | coma | comed* | coman |
| beber | bebe | bebe | bebé* | beba | bebed* | beban |
| tener | tiene | ten* | tené* | tenga | tened* | tengan |
| decir | dice | di* | decí* | diga | decid* | digan |
| * = unique verb that only exists for this imperative form | ||||||
If an imperative takes a pronoun as an object, it is appended to the verb; for example,Dime (Tell me). Pronouns can be stacked like they can in indicative clauses:
Imperatives can be formed forusted (singular formal second person),ustedes (plural second person), andnosotros (plural first person) from the respective present subjunctive form. Negative imperatives for these pronouns (as well astú,vos, andvosotros) are also formed this way, but are negated byno (e.g.No cantes, "Don't sing").
In Portuguese, affirmative imperatives for singular and plural second person (tu / vós) derive from their respective present indicative conjugations, after having their final-s dropped.[pt 1] On the other hand, their negative imperatives are formed by their respective subjunctive forms, as well as both affirmative and negative imperatives for treatment pronouns (você(s)) and plural first person (nós).
| infinitive | indicative | imperative | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| tu | vós | affirmative | negative | você | vocês | nós | |||
| tu | vós | tu | vós | ||||||
| comer | comes | comeis | come | comei | não comas | não comais | (não) coma | (não) comam | (não) comamos |
| beber | bebes | bebeis | bebe | bebei | não bebas | não bebais | (não) beba | (não) bebam | (não) bebamos |
| ter | tens | tendes | tem | tende | não tenhas | não tenhais | (não) tenha | (não) tenham | (não) tenhamos |
| dizer | dizes | dizeis | diz(e) | dizei | não digas | não digais | (não) diga | (não) digam | (não) digamos |
If a verb takes a pronoun, it should be appended to the verb:
Inspoken Welsh most verbs can form two imperatives, both in the second person: one for singular and one for plural/polite singular. The singular imperative is formed by adding–a to the verbal-stem (gwel- →gwela 'see!') while the plural/polite form takes–wch:gwelwch 'see!'. In informal writing, the plural/polite form is often used to translate 'please' as intalwch yma '(please) pay here' (talwch is the plural/polite imperative form oftalu 'to pay').
Inliterary Welsh there are imperatives for all persons and numbers, except for the first-person singular. These must often be translated using phrases in English:gwelwn 'let us see';gwelent 'let them see';wele 'let him/her/it see';gweler 'let it be seen, it is to be seen'. In the literary language the second person singular suffix–a is often not used:gwela (spoken), butgwêl (literary);tala (spoken), buttâl (literary).
The fiveirregular Welsh verbs (bod, mynd, dod, cael andgwneud) also have irregular imperative forms which also differ between the spoken and literary languages.
| 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | impersonal | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular | plural | singular | plural | plural | |||
| bod 'to be' | spoken | bydd(a) | byddwch | ||||
| literary | bydded, boed, bid | byddent | byddwn | bydder | |||
| mynd 'to go' | dos | ewch | |||||
| dod 'to come' | spoken | tyrd, dere | dewch, dowch | ||||
| literary | dere, tyrd, tyred | deuwch, dewch, dowch | deued, doed, deled | deuent, doent, delent | deuwn, down | deuer, doer, deler | |
| gwneud 'to do, to make' | gwna | gwnewch | |||||
| cael 'to get' | literary[a] | ca | cewch | ||||
Irish has imperative forms in all three persons and both numbers, although the first person singular is most commonly found in the negative (e.g.ná cloisim sin arís "let me not hear that again").
InHindi-Urdu (Hindustani) the imperatives are conjugated by adding suffixes to the root verb. The negative and positive imperatives are not constructed differently in Hindustani. There are three negations that be used to form negative imperatives.[8] They are:
Often to soften down the tone of the imperatives, the subjunctive and indicative negation are used to form negative imperatives. Imperatives can also be formed using subjunctives to give indirect commands to the third person and to formal second person.[9] A peculiar feature of Hindi-Urdu is that it has imperatives in two tenses; present and the future tense.[10] The present tense imperative gives command in the present and future imperative gives command for the future. Hindi-Urdu explicitly marks grammatical aspects and any verb can be put into the simple, habitual, perfective, and progressive aspects. Each aspect in turn can be conjugated into five different grammatical moods, imperative mood being one of them.
| 2nd person pronouns | Translation | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intimate | Familiar | Formal | ||||
| तू tū تو | तुम tum تم | आप āp آپ | ||||
| Simple aspect | Present | ♀ | कर kar کر | करो karo کرو | करिये kariye کرے | do nowǃ |
| ♂ | ||||||
| Future | ♀ | करियो kariyo کریو | करना karnā کرنا | करियेगा kariyegā کریگا | do laterǃ | |
| ♂ | ||||||
| Habitual aspect | Present | ♀ | करता रह kartā rêh کرتا رہ | करते रहो karte raho کرتے رہو | करते रहिये karte rahiye کرتے رہے | keep doingǃ |
| ♂ | करती रह kartī rêh کرتی رہ | करती रहो kartī raho کرتی رہو | करती रहिये kartī rahiye کرتی رہے | |||
| Future | ♀ | करता रहियो kartā rahiyo کرتا رہیو | करते रहना karte rêhnā کرتے رہنا | करते रहियेगा karte rahiyegā کرتے رہیگا | keep doing later as wellǃ | |
| ♂ | करती रहियो kartī rahiyo لڑتی رہیو | करती रहना kartī rêhnā کرتی رہنا | करती रहियेगा kartī rahiyegā کرتی رہیگا | |||
| Perfective aspect | Present | ♀ | किया रह kiyā rêh کیا رہ | किये रहो kiye raho کے رہو | किये रहिये kiye rahiye کے رہے | keep (it) done nowǃ |
| ♂ | की रह kī rêh کی رہ | की रहो kī raho کی رہو | की रहिये kī rahiye کی رہے | |||
| Future | ♀ | किया रहियो kiyā rahiyo کیا رہیو | किये रहना kiye rêhnā کے رہنا | किये रहियेगा kiye rahiyegā کے رہیگا | keep (it) done laterǃ | |
| ♂ | की रहियो kī rahiyo کی رہیو | की रहना kī rêhnā کی رہنا | की रहियेगा kī rahiyegā کی رہیگا | |||
| Progressive aspect | Present | ♀ | कर रहा रह kar rahā rêh کر رہا رہ | कर रहे रहो kar rahe raho کر رہے رہو | कर रहे रहिये kar rahe rahiye کر رہے رہے | be/continue doingǃ |
| ♂ | कर रही रह kar rahī rêh کر رہی رہ | कर रही रहो kar rahī raho کر رہی رہو | कर रही रहिये kar rahī rahiye کر رہی رہے | |||
| Future | ♀ | कर रहा रहियो kar rahā rahiyo کر رہا رہیو | कर रहे रहना kar rahe rêhnā کر رہے رہنا | कर रहे रहियेगा kar rahe rahiyegā کر رہے رہیگا | be/stay doingǃ | |
| ♂ | कर रही रहियो kar rahī rahiyo کر رہی رہیو | कर रही रहना kar rahī rêhnā کر رہی رہنا | कर रही रहियेगा kar rahī rahiyegā کر رہی رہیگا | |||
InSanskrit,लोट् लकार,lōṭ lakāra is used with the verb to form the imperative mood. To form the negative,न,na orमा,mā (when the verb is in passive or active voice respectively) is placed before the verb in the imperative mood.
Standard modernBengali uses the negative postposition /nā/ after a future imperative formed using the-iyo fusional suffix (in addition, umlaut vowel changes in the verb root might take place).
Ancient Greek has imperative forms for present, aorist, and perfect tenses for the active, middle, and passive voices. Within these tenses, forms exist for second and third persons, for singular, dual, and plural subjects. Subjunctive forms with μή are used for negative imperatives in the aorist.
| singular | 2nd person | λεῖπε |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd person | λειπέτω | |
| plural | 2nd person | λείπετε |
| 3rd person | λειπόντων |
In ancient Greek, the general order (with the idea of duration or repetition) is expressed using the present imperative and the punctual order (without the idea of duration or repetition) using the aorist imperative.
The commanding form in Russian language is formed from the base of the present tense.[11] The most common form of the second person singular or plural. The form of the second person singular in the imperative mood is formed as follows:
InFinnish, there are two ways of forming a first-person plural imperative. A standard version exists, but it is typically replaced colloquially by the impersonal tense.
Forms also exist for second and third person. Only first person singular does not have an imperative.
| singular | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | standard form | menkäämme | |
| colloquial | mennään | ||
| 2nd person | mene | menkää | |
| 3rd person | menköön | menkööt | |
Inclassical Hebrew, there is a form for positive imperative. It exists for singular and plural, masculine and feminine second-person. The imperative conjugations look like shortages of the future ones. However, in modern Hebrew, the future tense is often used in its place in colloquial speech, and the proper imperative form is considered formal or of higherregister.
The negative imperative in those languages is more complicated. In modern Hebrew, for instance, it contains a synonym of the word "no", that is used only in negative imperative (אַל), and is followed by the future tense.
| Future Indicative | Imperative / Prohibitive | |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | tikhtov –תכתוב 'You will write' | ktov –כתוב 'Write!' |
| Negative | lo tikhtov –לא תכתוב 'You will not write' | al tikhtov –אל תכתוב 'Don't write!' |
| Future Indicative | Imperative / Prohibitive | |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | tikhtevi –תכתבי 'You will write' | kitvi –כתבי 'Write!' |
| Negative | lo tikhtevi –לא תכתבי 'You will not write' | al tikhtevi –אל תכתבי 'Don't write!' |
| Future Indicative | Imperative / Prohibitive | |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | takhtiv –תכתיב 'You will dictate' | hakhtev –הכתב 'Dictate!' |
| Negative | lo takhtiv –לא תכתיב 'You will not dictate' | al takhtiv –אל תכתיב 'Don't dictate!' |
Japanese uses separate verb forms as shown below.
| Form | Indicative | Imperative / Prohibitive |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | 書くkaku | 書けkake |
| Negative | 書かないkakanai | 書くなkakuna |
See also the suffixes〜なさい (–nasai) and〜下さい (–kudasai).
Korean has sixlevels of honorific, all of which have their own imperative endings. Auxiliary verbs않다anta and말다malda are used for negative indicative and prohibitive, respectively.
| Level | Indicative Affirmative | Imperative | Indicative Negative | Prohibitive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (formal)Hasipsio-style | 가십니다 gasimnida | 가십시오 gasipsio | 가지 않으십니다 gaji aneusimnida | 가지 마십시오 gaji masipsio[vn 1] |
| Haeyo-style | 가세요 gaseyo | 가세요 gaseyo | 가지 않으세요 gaji aneuseyo | 가지 마세요 gaji maseyo[vn 1] |
| Hao-style | 가시오 gasio | 가시오 gasio | 가지 않으시오 gaji aneusio | 가지 마시오 gaji masio[vn 1] |
| Hage-style | 가네 gane | 가게 gage | 가지 않네 gaji anne | 가지 말게 gaji malge |
| Hae-style | 가 ga | 가 ga | 가지 않아 gaji ana | 가지 마 gaji ma[vn 2] |
| (informal)Haera-style | 간다 ganda | 가라 gara | 가지 않는다 gaji anneunda | 가지 마라 gaji mara[vn 2] |
Standard Chinese uses different words of negation for the indicative and the prohibitive moods.
| Indicative | Imperative / Prohibitive | |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | 做zuò | 做zuò |
| Negative | 不做búzuò | 别做biézuò |
For the imperative form, the second-person singular,Turkish uses the bare verb stem without the infinitive ending-mek/-mak. Other imperative forms use various suffixes. The second-person plural, which can also be used to express formality (SeeT–V distinction), uses the suffixes-in/-ın/-ün/-un. The second persondouble-plural, reserved for super formal contexts (usually public notifications), uses the suffixes-iniz/-ınız/-ünüz/-unuz. Third-person singular uses-sin/-sın/-sün/-sun. Third-person plural uses-sinler/-sınlar/-sünler/-sunlar (There is no third person double-plural in Turkish). First-person pronouns do not have imperative forms. All Turkish imperative suffixes change depending on the verb stem according to the rules ofvowel harmony.
| 2nd-person | singular | İç (Drink) |
|---|---|---|
| plural | İçin (Drink) | |
| double-plural | İçiniz (Drink, e.g.Soğuk içiniz "Drink cold" on soft drinks) | |
| 3rd-person | singular | İçsin (Let him/her drink) |
| plural | İçsinler (Let them drink) |
Turkish also has a separateoptative mood. Conjugations of the optative mood for the first-person pronouns are sometimes incorrectly said to be first-person imperatives. Conjugations of the optative mood for second and third-person pronouns exist, but are rarely used in practice.
| 1st-person | singular | içeyim |
|---|---|---|
| (double-)plural | içelim | |
| 2nd person | singular | içesin |
| (double-)plural | içesiniz | |
| 3rd person | singular | içe |
| plural | içeler |
Negative imperative forms are made in the same way, but using a negated verb as the base. For example, the second person singular imperative ofiçmemek (not to drink) isiçme (don't drink). OtherTurkic languages construct imperative forms similarly to Turkish.
