Imperative clauses

RA5

Imperative clauses express an order, a command. They range from a strict order to a polite request.

Examples

Komm bitte schnell zurück!

Seid bereit!

Vergessen Sie bitte die Regeln nicht!

The imperative clauses have the following features:

position of the verb	first
mood	imperative
intonation	descending
punctuation mark	exclamation mark

The imperative is used only to directly address one or more people. That is why imperative types are only formed in the second person singular and plural.

Furthermore, there is a distinction between the familiar/informal type and the polite/formal type. In the latter, the pronoun Sie is always the subject; in the familiar/informal type the subject can be omitted, unless it must be discerned from a larger number of people (Example: Komm du sofort her!).

when addressing		Example
a person	familiar/informal type	Komm!
	polite/formal type	Kommen Sie!

when addressing		Example
more than one person	familiar/informal type	Kommt!
	polite/formal type	Kommen Sie!

When someone addresses an order to a group of people in which he/she is included, the following structures are used.

form	Examples
first person plural present indicative +wir	Fahren wir los!
lasst uns + present infinitive	Lasst uns losfahren!

Alternative structures of interrogative clauses

There are alternative ways to express an order, a command etc.

alternative structures	Examples
interrogative clause	Kannst du mir helfen?
modal verbs müssen / sollen	Du sollst einkaufen gehen!
declarative clause	Du machst sofort deine Hausaufgaben!
infinitive without zu	Aufstehen!
noun, adjective, particle	Ruhe! Schnell! Los!
impersonal passive	Es wird jetzt geschlafen!
past participle (Partizip II)	Aufgepasst!