Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
(Imperativ)
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.
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:
The original imperative only has 2nd person singular and plural forms, the clause lacking a
subject.
For most verbs, the imperative is constructed with the 2nd person singular of the
Indikativpräsens and by taking off the "-st" ending.
singular singular
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:
singular singular
lesen lies - t lies to read
Verbs that acquire the "Umlaut" in the second and third person singular lose it in the imperative:
singular singular
singular singular
In the imperative, auxiliary verbs don't follow any rule and you have to memorize them.
Fortunately, there are only 3.
singular singular
sein bi - st sei to be
The conjugation for the 2nd person plural is very easy because it is the same as that of the
present indicative.
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]).
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.
To construct a phrase with negation in the imperative, the particle "nicht" is simply added.