The Imperative is used to
give orders or instructions.
Erst hol bitte vom
Bäcker ein kleines Weißbrot
("First fetch a small loaf of white bread from
the baker")
Dann kauf beim
Metzger ein halbes Pfund Hackfleisch
("Then buy half a pound of mincemeat from the
butcher")
The
verb endings for the imperative
depend on the person to whom you are talking. In both of the above
cases
the "du" form is used, as Anna Müller is talking to a
member of her own family. The other pronouns for "you" in German have
their own form of the imperative
| Forms of the
imperative |
|
| |
holen |
|
kaufen |
|
| du |
hol! |
|
kauf! |
Kauf (du) einen
Apfel!
|
| ihr |
holt! |
|
kauft! |
Kauft (ihr) einen Apfel!
|
| Sie |
holen
Sie! |
|
kaufen
Sie! |
Kaufen Sie einen Apfel!
|
|
The
"ihr"
form of the imperative is exactly the same as the "ihr" form
of
the regular present tense.
The "Sie" form of the imperative is exactly
the same as the "Sie" form of the regular present tense BUT
the
word order is reversed - the verb always precedes the pronoun.
Note in particular that the "Sie" form of
the imperative is the only one in which the pronoun is used in the
command; you must omit the pronoun in
the "du" and "ihr" forms.
Irregular
verbs
Most irregular verbs with "-e-" in the stem
change this to "-i-" or "-ie-" in the "du" form,
just
as they do in the regular present tense. Such verbs never add the
ending "-e" in the "du"
form. The "ihr"
and "Sie" forms remain unaffected. This works out as follows
for the three irregular verbs of this kind that we have already
encountered:
| Irregular
imperatives |
| |
geben |
|
nehmen |
| du |
gib! |
|
nimm! |
| ihr |
gebt! |
|
nehmt! |
| Sie |
geben
Sie! |
|
nehmen
Sie! |
| |
| |
empfehlen |
|
sein |
| du |
empfiehl! |
|
sei! |
| ihr |
empfehlt! |
|
seid! |
| Sie |
empfehlen
Sie! |
|
seien
Sie! |
|
The "wir" form (Let's)
There is also a "wir" form of the imperative which equates to
"Let's do something"
rather
than being an order. Just like the "Sie" form of the
imperative, you merely take the normal "wir" form of the
present tense verb and follow it with the adverb:
- i.e. "Gehen
wir!" (= "Let's go!"); "Machen wir!" (=
"Let's do it!")