The 4 forms of the German imperative
The Imperativ is a sentence type you'll meet constantly in daily life: instructions, reminders, invitations, advice, prohibitions. This lesson helps you use the 4 main forms correctly and avoid common mistakes.
What is the Imperativ used for?
- Giving orders
- Making requests
- Giving advice
- Giving instructions
- Encouraging or reminding
Not every imperative sentence carries a harsh tone. In reality, the Imperativ can be very polite if it's paired with bitte or used in the right context.
The 4 basic forms
| Person | How to form it briefly | Example |
|---|---|---|
| du | verb stem, drop -st | Komm! |
| ihr | same as the present-tense ihr form, drop ihr | Kommt! |
| Sie | verb infinitive + Sie | Kommen Sie! |
| wir | verb infinitive + wir | Gehen wir! |
German imperative sentences usually begin with the verb and end with an exclamation mark. With separable verbs, the prefix still goes to the end of the sentence. Some strong verbs change their vowel in the du form, and some verbs such as arbeiten, atmen, zeichnen usually need an added -e for easier pronunciation.
The wir form and natural ways of speaking
Besides Gehen wir!, native speakers also very often use the structure Lass uns + Infinitiv to invite or suggest doing something together, for example Lass uns nach Berlin fahren! or Lass uns auf Deutsch sprechen!
Warte bitte auf mich!
Please wait for me!
Kommen Sie bitte herein!
Please come in!
- nehmen -> nimm
- lesen -> lies
- fahren -> fahr
- sein -> sei / seid / seien
- haben -> hab / habt / haben Sie
The original lesson also mentions the special auxiliary verbs in the Imperativ such as sein, haben, werden. Although they don't come up too often, they are still very useful in familiar sentences like Sei ehrlich! or Werde nicht böse!
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If you're not sure which form to use, prefer the Sie + bitte form. It's safe, polite, and suitable for a great many real situations.