What is a Command in German – Imperative?
An Imperative is used when giving commands, orders or instructions like “Shut up!” or “Help me!” In these cases the verb will be formed in a special way.
The three different forms of the German imperative:
There are three ways of giving commands in German by using the German imperative. When to use which form depends on who you are talking to. It could be either:
– the informal “du” form if you are talking to a person which you know well
– the informal “ihr” form if you are talking to more than one person which you know well
– the formal “Sie” form if you are talking to one or more than one person which you don’t know very well
If you’re not sure, when to use du, ihr or Sie read our blog When to use Sie, du and ihr
Forming the German imperative:
| Form of Imperative | Verb Example | Translation |
| du (singular) | verb stem (+e) | mach(e)! | make! |
| ihr (plural) | verb stem + t | macht! | make! |
| Sie (polite singular and plural) | verb stem + en | machen Sie! | make! |
As you can see from the table above, the pronouns du and ihr are dropped, leaving only the verb itself when using the imperative in German. The only time when the pronoun still appears is when using the Sie form.
Some more examples:
fang(e)! – catch
fangt! – catch
fangen Sie! – catch
komm(e)! – come
kommt – come
kommen Sie! – come
With the du form, the last -e of the verb is usually dropped. There are of course exceptions, but these are very rare. For example, when the stem of the verb ends in chn- or fn- or tm- the -e is kept to make the pronunciation easier.
Remember that sometimes the du form of a verb can have a vowel change. In these cases, the imperative in German will also have a vowel change.
For example:
lesen (to read): du liest – lies!
essen (to eat): du isst – iss!
BUT if there is a vowel change which involves an umlaut, this umlaut is not added to the du form in the imperative.
For example:
schlafen (to sleep): du schläfst – schlaf!
fahren (to drive): du fährst – fahr!
The German imperative is important to get to grips with. Being able to give commands in German is a key step in learning the German language.
FAQs
An imperative is a form of the verb used when giving orders and instructions. In German, with the Sie form, the imperative form is the same as the form of the verb in the present tense, except that the verb comes first. So, to say Give me to someone you would address with Sie, use Geben Sie mir.
What is the imperative command in German? ›
An imperative is a form of the verb used when giving orders and instructions. In German, with the Sie form, the imperative form is the same as the form of the verb in the present tense, except that the verb comes first. So, to say Give me to someone you would address with Sie, use Geben Sie mir.
How do I order someone in German? ›
In German, you can make a polite request or command by placing the full verb at the beginning of the sentence, followed by the polite form of “you” (Sie). gehen Sie! (Go!) laufen Sie!
What is the imperative of du? ›
The du-imperative consists of the stem of the verb WITHOUT the pronoun. However, If the verb is a stem-vowel changing verb, the stem vowel change is used. If the verb ends in an -d or -t, add an -e in the du-imperative.
Is the German imperative du ihr or sie? ›
German Imperative: The Basics
These correspond to the three different ways of saying you: du, ihr, Sie, and wir. However, it is only in the Sie form of the imperative that the pronoun usually appears – in the “du” and “ihr” forms, the pronoun is generally dropped, which leaves us with only the verb.
What are the imperative commands? ›
Commands usually start with an imperative verb, also known as a 'bossy verb', because they tell someone to do something. "Fetch me some biscuits." In this example, 'fetch' is the imperative verb. You should also use commands when you are writing instructions telling someone how to do something.
What is the imperative of Essen? ›
Just like there are three different words in German to say you, (du, ihr and Sie), there are also three different forms for the imperative. essen → iss! essen → esst! essen → essen Sie!
What is the imperative of Laufen? ›
The verb "laufen" has the "du" imperative lauf! (and not: läuf), although the present tense of the verb is du läufst. The verb "stoßen" has the imperative stoß! (and not: stöß), although the present tense of the verb is du stößt.
What is the imperative of etre? ›
To conjugate être in the imperative is the same as for the subjunctive present tense, but the subject pronouns are omitted. Sois gentil(le). = Be nice. Soyons patients.
What is the tu imperative? ›
2nd person singular (tu)
We conjugate the imperative in the 2nd person singular using the present-tense form of the 1st person singular. We do not include the subject pronoun (tu). This means that regular -er verbs end with -e, while all other verbs end with -s.
To form the imperative mood of 'geben' for direct commands: for "du", use "gib"; for "ihr", use "gebt"; and for "Sie", the formal form remains "geben".
What does "du bist" mean in German? ›
Answer and Explanation:
'Du bist' means 'you are' in English. 'Du bist' used in a sentence: 'Du bist nett', which means 'You are kind.
How to build an imperativ in German? ›
In fact, the imperative is formed not from the infinitive, but by adding "-en" (or "-n") to the verb stem. That looks just like the infinitive, except in the case of "sein" (to be):
