The Imperative in German Grammar (Imperativ)
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An imperative is a form of the verb used when giving orders or instructing people to do things. In English, the
Imperativ works by using the infinitive form of the verb, for example: Come here!, Speak loudly!.
In German the imperative is a little more complicated though; as there exists three different imperative forms, depending on the number of persons being addressed, and whether addressed formally or informally.
‘du’ Form
This form is used when addressing a person with whom you’re quite familiar.
Also in this form, the ‘du‘ pronoun is dropped from the sentence, and only the Imperativ form of the verb appears.
Regular Verbs
For regular verbs, the imperative is formed by using the stem of the verb without an ending.
| Verb | Imperative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| trinken | trink | Trink weniger! |
| kommen | komm | Komm jetzt! |
| bleiben | bleib | Bleib hier! |
Irregular Verbs – German Grammar
Irregular verbs retain their irregularities in their imperative form as well. Verbs with a stem ending with ‘-d‘, ‘-t‘, or ‘consonant + m/n‘, have an ‘-e‘ added to their stem.
While verbs haveing a stem vowel change have the same stem vowel change in their imperative form, except for verbs having a vowel change from ‘a‘ to ‘ä‘, these don’t change.
| Verb | Imperative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Stem ending with ‘-d’, ‘-t’, ‘consonant + m/n’ | ||
| warten | warte | Warte bis Morgen! |
| öffnen | öffne | Öffne die Tür! |
| atmen | atme | Atme schneller! |
| Stem with a vowel change | ||
| helfen | hilf | Hilf mir! |
| lesen | lies | Lies das Buch! |
| sprechen | sprich | Sprich leise! |
| Stem with ‘a’ to ‘ä’ vowel change | ||
| tragen | trag | Trag deine Uniform! |
| fahren | fahr | Fahr links! |
haben & sein
Both verbs behave exactly like regular verbs, just use the stem of the verb.
| Verb | Imperative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| haben | hab | Hab Geduld! |
| sein | sei | Sei ruhig! |
Separable Verbs
The prefix of these verbs splits off, and is placed at the end of its clause.
| Verb | Imperative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| zumachen | mach zu | Mach die Tür zu! |
| aufhören | hör auf | Hör aber endlich auf! |
‘ihr’ Form
The informal plural is used when addressing at least two people whom you are familiar with.
This form is very similar to the ‘du‘ imperative form
The ‘ihr’ pronoun is dropped from the sentance, only the imperative verb is left.
For regular verbs, the imperative is formed by using the stem of the verb and adding a ‘-t‘ ending to it.
Irregular verbs which take an ‘-e‘ ending in the ‘du‘ form, take an ‘-et‘ ending in the ‘ihr‘ form.
Separable verbs split off their prefix.
| Verb | Imperative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Regular verbs | ||
| kommen | kommt | Kommt, bitte! |
| holen | holt | Holt es mir! |
| Irregular verbs | ||
| arbeiten | arbeitet | Arbeitet nicht so viel! |
| antworten | antwortet | Antwortet auf die Frage! |
| Separable verbs | ||
| ausziehen | zieht aus | Zieht den Pullover aus! |
| aufmachen | macht auf | Macht das Gepäck auf! |
‘Sie’ Form
The ‘Sie‘ form is used when addressing one person or more in a formal manner.
Unlike the ‘du‘ & ‘ihr‘ pronouns, the ‘Sie‘ pronoun isn’t dropped from the sentance when forming imperatives.
The imperative of regular & irregular verbs is simple formed by using the present-tense ‘Sie‘ form of the verb.
Separable verbs split off their prefix.
| Verb | Imperative | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Regular & irregular verbs | ||
| geben | geben | Geben Sie mir das Buch, bitte. |
| fragen | fragen | Fragen Sie den Mann da. |
| Separable verbs | ||
| anfangen | fangen an | Fangen Sie bitte an. |
| umsteigen | steigen um | Steigen Sie hier um. |
Verb in First Position
All imperative forms in German have one feature in common: the verb is placed at the start of the sentence. This structure is very similar to English.
Frequent Use
The imperative is quite frequently used in the German language; as it’s not considered impolite or rude to do so. Thus, be prepared to use them alot when using the language!
The Imperative in German Grammar (Imperativ)
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