Imperativ

The Imperative (Command form) in German (Imperativ)

• 1 Introduction
• 2 Original forms for the imperative
  • 2.1 Conjugation of the second person singular for the imperative
  • 2.2 Conjugating the second person plural of the imperative
• 3 Forms added to the imperative
• 4 The Particles "bitte" and "doch mal"
  • 4.1 bitte
  • 4.2 doch mal
• 5 Negation with the imperative

Introduction

The imperative is used for expressing an order and it also exists in English, its use being the same in both languages. In German, it is called Befehlsform and the imperative sentence: Aufforderungssatz.

Trink ein Bier mit mir! 
Drink a beer with me!

Steh auf, wenn du am Boden bist 
Stand up when you are on the ground

Lies den Text vor 
Read the text aloud

The imperative is a grammar mood. There are three grammar moods in German:

• The indicative
• The subjunctive
• The imperative

The conjugation of the imperative is very simple. There is no 1st person or 3rd person form of the singular. Let's look at an example for the complete conjugation of the imperative with the verb trinken:

Person	Conjugation	Meaning
1st person singular	---
2nd person singular	trink	drink
3rd person singular	---
1st person plural	trink-en wir	let's drink
2nd person plural	trink-t	drink
Polite form (Sie)	trink-en Sie	drink

Note: The imperative does not exist for modal verbs.

Original forms for the imperative

The original imperative only has 2nd person singular and plural forms, the clause lacking a subject.

Verbal person	Conjugation	Translation
2nd person singular	trink	drink
2nd person plural	trink - t	drink

Conjugation of the second person singular for the imperative

For most verbs, the imperative is constructed with the 2nd person singular of the Indikativpräsens and by taking off the "-st" ending.

Infinitive	Present 2nd person singular	Imperative 2nd person singular	Meaning
studieren	studier - st	studier(e)	to study
arbeiten	arbeite - st	arbeite	to work
nehmen	nimm - st	nimm	to take
empfehlen	empfiehl - st	empfiehl	to recommend

Pay close attention: Although there is no vowel change of "e" to "i" or to "ie" in the stem of the last two examples, the verbs keep complying with the rule that has been shown. In some cases and with some verbs, an "-e" is added in the imperative. For the imperative of studieren, it is not just valid to say studier but also studiere.

In the case of the stem ending with "-s", "-z", "-x" or "-ß"

Due to the union of the "-s" with the last letter of the stem, only the final "-t" is removed:

Infinitive	Present 2nd person singular	Imperative 2nd person singular	Meaning
lesen	lies - t	lies	to read
sitzen	sitz - t	sitz	to sit

In the case of strong verbs that acquire an Umlaut

Verbs that acquire the "Umlaut" in the second and third person singular lose it in the imperative:

Infinitive	Present 2nd person singular	Imperative 2nd person singular	Meaning
fahren	fähr - st	fahr	to drive

In the case of infinitives ending with "-rn" or "-ln"

Verbs ending with "-rn" or "-ln" add an "-e" in the imperative:

Infinitive	Present 2nd person singular	Infinitive 2nd person singular	Meaning
ändern	änder - st	ändere	to change
radeln	radel - st	rad(e)le	to cycle

In the case of auxiliary verbs

In the imperative, auxiliary verbs don't follow any rule and you have to memorize them. Fortunately, there are only 3.

Infinitive	Present 2nd person singular	Imperative 2nd person singular	Meaning
sein	bi - st	sei	to be
haben	ha - st	hab(e)	to have
werden	wir - st	werde	to become

Conjugating the second person plural of the imperative

The conjugation for the 2nd person plural is very easy because it is the same as that of the present indicative.

Infinitive	Present 2nd person plural	Imperative 2nd person plural	Meaning
studieren	studier - t	studiert	to study
arbeiten	arbeite - t	arbeitet	to work
nehmen	nehm - t	nehmt	to take
empfehlen	empfehl- t	empfehlt	to recommend

Forms added to the imperative

The conjugation of the imperative with forms added on is very simple: You just have to know the infinitive of the verb + to whom the order is given (wir [we] o Sie [you formal]).

Person	Conjugation	Meaning
1st person plural	trinken wir	let's drink
Polite form (Sie)	trinken Sie	drink

The Particles "bitte" and "doch mal"

The imperative can sound very impolite in German. To make a phrase that sounds more polite, one of the following particles is added:

bitte

It means "please"

Komm bitte! 
Come please!

doch mal

It means "let's go" or "come on" in the sense of encouraging your conversation partner to carry out an action.

Komm doch mal! 
Come on!

Negation with the imperative

To construct a phrase with negation in the imperative, the particle "nicht" is simply added.

Iss nicht so viel 
Don't eat so much