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The Imperative (Command form) in German

(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.

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 Imperative Meaning

2nd person 2nd person

singular singular

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 Imperative Meaning

2nd person 2nd person

singular singular
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 Imperative Meaning

2nd person 2nd person

singular singular

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 Infinitive Meaning

2nd person 2nd person

singular singular

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 Imperative Meaning

2nd person 2nd person

singular singular

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 Imperative Meaning

2nd person plural 2nd person plural

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

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