Imperative: du, ihr and Sie

1.Purpose of the imperative

The imperative is the verb form used to tell someone to do something, give an instruction, make a request, or invite someone to act.

At A1, the three forms needed most are:

First choose who is being spoken to. Then choose the matching imperative form.

German uses the imperative for many everyday purposes:

• instructions;
• requests;
• invitations;
• warnings;
• short directions.

The form itself does not automatically make a sentence rude. Tone, context, bitte, and the choice between du, ihr, and Sie matter.

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2.Three forms: du, ihr, Sie

Compare one action with kommen:

This contrast is the central system.

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3.du without du

With one person addressed as du, the pronoun normally disappears.

Statement:

Du kommst heute.

Imperative:

Komm heute!

Incorrect: Du komm!. Correct: Komm heute!.

Usual beginner pattern: take the du form and remove -st.

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4.Formation strategy for du

For many regular verbs: infinitive → stem → imperative.

At A1, this stem-based model works for a large number of common verbs.

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5.When -e matters

Some stems are difficult to pronounce without an extra -e, especially stems ending in -d or -t.

An optional -e also appears with some other verbs in careful or traditional forms; at A1 it is enough to learn the common forms actually met.

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6.Strong du forms

Some common strong verbs change their stem vowel in the du form, and the imperative keeps this change.

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7.No a → ä umlaut in the du imperative

Useful contrast:

This is an important exception to the idea of simply copying every vowel change from the du form.

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8.ihr imperative

For several people addressed informally, use the normal ihr verb form without ihr.

ihr is not written in the normal imperative, but the verb keeps the familiar ihr ending.

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9.Polite Sie imperative

The formal imperative has a transparent pattern: Infinitive + Sie.

In this form, Sie does not disappear.

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10.Softening with bitte

bitte is extremely useful with the imperative.

Formally:

bitte can appear in different positions:

At beginner level, both are useful ready-made patterns.

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11.Irregular sein

The imperative of sein must be learned separately:

These forms are not built from a regular stem.

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12.Separable verbs in the imperative

With separable verbs, the prefix separates in the imperative just as it does in a normal main clause.

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13.What can follow the imperative

After the imperative verb, the same kinds of information as in other simple sentences can follow: object, place, time, or other information.

The imperative changes the way the sentence begins, not the meaning of all the other sentence parts.

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14.Negative imperative

Use nicht when telling someone not to do something.

The exact position of nicht depends on what is being negated; at A1 it is useful to recognize common complete patterns.

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15.Imperative vs statement vs question

The imperative is not simply a statement with an exclamation mark. The verb form and the presence or absence of the subject pronoun change too.

Question vs imperative:

The first sentence asks for information. The second asks or tells the person to act.

Formal:

Here the word order can look identical, so intonation, punctuation, and context distinguish the question from the imperative.

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16.Everyday models: come, wait, look

Asking someone to come:

Asking someone to wait:

Asking someone to look:

mal is very common in spoken German and can make a short request sound more conversational.

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17.Frequent mistakes

Keeping du or ihr:

In a normal imperative, du and ihr are omitted. Formal Sie stays.

Dropping Sie:

Incorrect: Kommen bitte!. Correct: Kommen Sie bitte!.

Using the infinitive for du:

Incorrect: Kommen!. Correct: Komm!.

Kommen! can occur on signs or as a special infinitive-style command, but it is not the basic personal du imperative taught here.

Copying the umlaut:

Incorrect: Fähr!. Correct: Fahr!.

Forgetting a separable prefix:

Incorrect: Ruf mich!. Correct: Ruf mich an!.

when the intended verb is anrufen.

Also watch for: sein is Sei! / Seid! / Seien Sie!; common strong verbs have special du forms such as Nimm!, Lies!, Sprich!; bitte softens many requests.

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18.Form-choice algorithm

When an imperative is needed:

1. Who is being spoken to? — du / ihr / Sie
2. Which verb is needed?
3. Build the matching form:
   • du → usually the stem (strong verbs: keep the vowel change, but no a → ä)
   • ihr → ihr-form without ihr
   • Sie → infinitive + Sie
4. Add the rest of the sentence (object, place, time; separable prefix at the end).
5. Add bitte when appropriate.

The main A1 skill is recognizing who is addressed and choosing the correct one of the three basic patterns: