7.3.1.4: Der Imperativ
- Page ID
- 108483
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The imperative mood (in contrast to the indicative mood - such as statements) is used to give commands and directions. There are four possible recipient 'groups' for commands in German.
Die Stiefschwester in der Welt von Frau Holle
vimp_01_01_stepsister-hol-herauf.mp3
| du (2nd person singular) | Geh zum Brunnen zurück und hol deine Spule herauf! | Go to the well and bring back your spool of thread! |
| wir (1st person plural) | Frau Holle, lassen Sie uns sofort zurück zum Tor gehen; ich will mein Gold! | Mrs. Holle, let's go back to the gate right away; I want my gold! |
| ihr (2nd person plural) | Bleibt auf dem Baum, sonst könnte mir einer von euch auf den Kopf fallen! | Stay in the tree, otherwise one of you could fall on my head! |
| Sie (2nd person singular - formal) |
Schütteln Sie Ihr eigenes Bett auf! | Shake up your own bed! |
You use the personal pronoun wir and Sie when giving commands, but not du or ihr unless you really want to emphasize that you had better do this, instead of somebody else (have you ever heard an exasperated parent tell you what to do?!?)
Forming the imperative
Since, of the imperative forms, only the du imperative requires deep thought, let's get the other three forms out of the way first.
wir, ihr, Sie
The wir, ihr and Sie imperatives take the same verb-forms as the present tense conjugated verbs (both regular and irregular verbs) with a new word order and the loss of ihr:
vimp_01_02_narr-wir-ihr-sie-forms.mp3
| declarative form | imperative form | ||
| wir | Wir bringen die Äpfel zu meinem Haus. | Bringen wir die Äpfel zu meinem Haus! | Let's bring the apples to my house! |
| ihr | Ihr bringt auch die Brötchen. | Bringt auch die Brötchen! | Bring the rolls too (y'all)! |
| Sie | Sie bringen einen leeren Korb, Frau Holle. | Sag mir bitte: Bringen Sie bitte einen leeren Korb, Frau Holle! | Please say to me: Bring an empty basket, please, Frau Holle! |
du
The du-imperative is formed by
- taking the 2nd person singular conjugated form of a verb,
- removing the -st ending, and
- dropping the pronoun du (unless you really want to emphasize that you should do the job):
regular verbs
vimp_01_03_frauholle-du-regular-verbs.mp3
| declarative form | imperative form | |
| Du bringst die Äpfel. | Bring die Äpfel! | Bring the apples! |
| Du kommst in mein Haus. | Komm in mein Haus! | Come into my house! |
| Du machst mein Bett. | Mach mein Bett! | Make my bed! |
This pattern holds true for both irregular verbs – so, you will have to review your basic verb conjugations too! – with one additional requirement: verbs that have an Umlaut on the 2nd person singular form in the regular conjugation (e.g., fahren => fährst or laufen => läufst) lose that Umlaut in the imperative.
irregular verbs
vimp_01_04_frauholle-du-ireregular-verbs.mp3
| declarative form | imperative form | |
| Du nimmst das Brot aus dem Ofen. | Nimm das Brot aus dem Ofen! | Take the bread out of the oven! |
| Du läufst durch das Tor. | Lauf durch das Tor! | Run through the gate! |
| Du schläfst nicht den ganzen Tag. | Schlaf nicht den ganzen Tag! | Do not sleep the entire day! |
Verbs whose stem ends in a -d, -t, -ig, -m or -n (after another consonant), get an -e suffix for the du-imperative (there is also some regional variation, for example lad mich ein is also possible):
vimp_01_05_narr-antworten-to-warten.mp3
| antworten | => | antworte mir! | answer me! |
| entschuldigen | => | entschuldige! | excuse me! |
| einladen | => | lade mich ein! | invite me! |
| finden | => | finde ihn! | find him! |
| raten | => | rate mal! | guess! |
| reden | => | rede nicht so laut! | don't talk so loudly! |
| retten | => | rette uns! | save us! |
| schütteln | => | schüttle den Baum! | shake the tree! |
| warten | => | warte mal! | wait a minute! |
Separable prefix verbs
Separable prefixes separate from the verb when forming the imperative.
vimp_01_06_frauholle-separableprefix-verbs.mp3
| Zieh das Brot aus dem Ofen heraus! | Take the bread out of the oven! |
| Steh früh auf! | Get up early! |
| Komm mit mir zum Tor mit! | Come along to the gate with me! |
Exceptions: some really irregular verbs
Not surprisingly, haben and sein, werden and wissen - some of the most commonly used verbs - are exceptions, and they don't follow any of the above patterns:
vimp_01_07_narr-really-irregular-verbs.mp3
| sein | haben | werden | wissen | |
| du | sei mutig! | hab einen Apfel! | werde fleißiger! | wisse das Kennwort! |
| wir | seien wir mutig! | haben wir einen Apfel! | werden wir fleißiger! | wissen wir das Kennwort! |
| ihr | seid mutig! | habt einen Apfel! | werdet fleißiger! | wisst das Kennwort! |
| Sie | seien Sie mutig! | haben Sie einen Apfel!! | werden Sie fleißiger! | wissen Sie das Kennwort! |
| (let's) be brave! | (let's) have an apple! | (let's) become more hard-working! | (let's) know the code word! |
Infinitives as commands
Infinitives can be used as commands, especially in official situations, where the command is not directed at any one particular person:
vimp_01_08_narr-klopfen-to-eintreten.mp3
| Bitte an die Tür klopfen! | Please knock on the door! |
| Bitte vorsichtig eintreten! | Please enter with caution! |
Sollen for commands
Infinitives with sollen can also express commands, and expresses an obligation established by someone other than the person at whom the 'sollen + infinitive' command is directed:
| das brave Mädchen | Du sollst Frau Holle bei der Hausarbeit helfen! | You are supposed to help Frau Holle with the chores! |
| das brave Mädchen | Wir sollen brav und hilfsbereit sein! | We should be virtuous and helpful! |
| die Stiefschwester | Du sollst brav und hilfsbereit sein! Ich gehe schlafen! | You should be virtuous and helpful! I am going to sleep! |
Lass uns ...
The last imperative construction we'll discuss here is the 'lass uns + infinitive' construction. This is used for first person plural suggestions/commands. It has the same meaning as the regular 1st person plural verb form, for example:
| Seien wir froh und munter! | = | Lass uns froh und munter sein! | Let's be merry and cheerful! |
| Gehen wir durch das Tor! | = | Lass uns durch das Tor gehen! | Let's go through the gate! |
Common irregular du-imperative forms
vimp_01_11_narr-common-irregular-verbs-chart.mp3
| empfehlen (recommend) | empfiehl | schlagen (hit) | schlag(e) | |
| essen (eat) | iss | schmelzen (melt) | schmilz | |
| fahren (drive, travel) | fahr | sehen (see) | sieh(e) | |
| fallen (fall) | fall | sein (be) | sei | |
| (an)fangen (begin/catch) | fang (an) | sprechen (speak) | sprich | |
| fressen (eat [animal]) | friss | sterben (die) | stirb | |
| geben (give) | gib | tragen (carry, wear) | trag(e) | |
| (an)halten (hold, stop) | halt (an) | treffen (meet) | triff | |
| helfen (help) | hilf | treten (step, kick) | tritt | |
| lassen (let, allow) | lass | vergessen (forget) | vergiss | |
| laufen (run) | lauf(e) | werden (become) | werde | |
| nehmen (take) | nimm | werfen (throw) | wirf | |
| raten (guess, advise) | rat(e) | wissen (know) | wisse | |
| schlafen (sleep) | schlaf |