German imperative – the student’s shortcut to understanding it

Even Master Yoda (known from Star Wars) used the imperative:

Tu es oder tu es nicht.
Es gibt kein Versuchen! 

Do or do not. There is no try! 

~ Master Yoda

Definition of the German Imperativ

The imperative is a mode used to express an order, request, or demand. When we ask someone to do something specific.

When do we use the imperative in German?

We use the imperative when addressing other people directly. We can use it to address people in the 2. person singular and plural (du, ihr) and the formal form Sie.

We also use the imperative when we are in a group and ask the group (including us) to do something. We then use the personal pronoun wir.

Imperative sentences are usually short.

Here are some mixed examples of imperative sentences:

Mach bitte das Fenster zu, mir ist kalt.
Please close the window, I’m cold.

Geh nach Hause, es ist schon dunkel.
Go home, it’s already dark.

Raucht nicht so viel!
Don’t smoke that much!

Gehen Sie!
Go!

Warten wir!
Let’s wait!

Halten Sie bitte an.
Stop, please. 

etc.

Use of the informal German imperative 

The German imperative when using “du”

2. person singular

General usage of du:

When we speak to someone we are familiar with (for example, a friend or family member), we use the personal pronoun du and the verb ends in -st. 

Du machst mich glücklich.
You make me happy.

Wohin gehst du?
Where are you going?

Du rauchst zu viel.
You are smoking too much.

Use of the German imperative: 

When we ask this person to do something or give an order (rarely), then we use the imperative.

This is how we change it to the imperative in German: 

The word du and the ending -st are omitted.

Du machst mich glücklich.

Imperativ:

Mach mich glücklich.
Make me happy.

Geh weg*, ich will dich nicht mehr sehen!
Go away!

Rauch nicht so viel!
Do not smoke so much!

[*weggehen is a separable verb in German!]

Note: We can also add an -e.

Mache mich glücklich.

Gehe weg, ich will dich nicht mehr sehen!

Rauche nicht so viel!

🎓 Exercise 1

Put in the correct words in the German imperative form
2nd person singular (du)

1) _____ nach Hause, es ist schon spät (gehen).
    Go home it’s getting late.

2) _____ nicht so viel. Rauchen ist ungesund (rauchen).
    Don’t smoke so much. Smoking is unhealthy.

3) _____ nicht so schnell, sonst verschluckst du dich (trinken).
    Don’t drink too quickly or you’ll choke.

Common mistakes when forming the German imperative in the 2nd person singular

There are irregular verbs in which the e becomes an i or ie.

e => i
e => ie

Here are the most common and well-known words that you should know:

essen => iss! (eat!) – (nicht ess)

sterben => stirb! (die!) – (nicht sterbe)

geben => gib! (give!) – (nicht geb)

werfen => wirf! (throw) – (nicht werf)

helfen => hilf! (help) – (nicht helf)

lesen => lies! (read!) – (nicht les)

vergessen => vergiss! (nicht vergess)

sprechen => sprich! (speak!) – (nicht sprech)

nehmen => nimm! (take!) – (nicht nehm)

The imperative when using “ihr”

2. person plural

General usage of ihr:

When we speak to several people with whom we are familiar, we use the personal pronoun ihr and the verb ends in -t.

Ihr macht mich glücklich.
You (all) make me happy.

Wohin geht ihr?
Where are you going?

Ihr raucht zu viel.
You are smoking too much.

Use of the imperative:

When we ask these people to do something or give an order (rarely), then we use the imperative.

This is how we change it to the imperative in German: 

The word ihr is omitted and the ending -t stays the same.

Ihr macht mich glücklich.

Imperativ:

Macht mich glücklich.

Geht weg, ich will euch nicht mehr sehen!

Raucht nicht so viel.

🎓 Exercise 2

Put in the correct words in the German imperative form
2nd person plural (ihr)

1) _____ nicht so viel Alkohol. Das ist nicht gut für eure Gesundheit (trinken).

2) _____ nach Hause, es ist schon spät (gehen).

3) Kinder, _____ nicht auf der Straße. Das ist gefährlich (spielen).

Use of the formal German imperative

General usage of Sie:

When we speak to a person with whom we are not so familiar or who represents a person of respect for us (for example the boss or a police officer), then we use the personal pronoun Sie (formal).

The verb gets the ending -en as in the basic form (infinitive). 

Sie machen mich glücklich.
You make me happy.

Wohin gehen Sie?
Where you go?

Sie rauchen zu viel.
You smoke too much.

Use of the imperative:

When we ask these people to do something or give an order, we use the imperative.

This is how we change it to the imperative in German: 

The ending -en stays and the pronoun Sie changes position.

Sie machen Sie mich glücklich.

Imperativ:

Machen Sie mich glücklich.

Gehen Sie weg*, ich will Sie nicht mehr sehen!

Rauchen Sie nicht so viel. 

🎓 Exercise 3

Put in the correct word in the German imperative form for (Sie)

1) _____ Sie bitte das Fenster zu, es ist kalt (zumachen).

2) _____ Sie bitte an (anhalten).

3) _____ Sie nicht so viel. Das ist nicht gesund (rauchen).

Imperative sentences with and without exclamation marks

At the end of an imperative sentence can be a period (.) or an exclamation mark (!).

When we write an exclamation mark, we add more emphasis to the sentence. So we want to make the sentence look more impressive.

Geh lieber nach Hause, es wird so langsam dunkel.
Better go home, it’s getting dark.

Geh sofort nach Hause! Deine Frau ist sauer auf dich. 
Go home immediately! Your wife is mad at you.

Did you notice the difference?

How can you make German imperative sentences sound more polite? 

The German imperative form often sounds a bit strict and rude, and non-native speakers need to get used to this direct way of speaking.

Of course you can control a lot with your voice and make it sound more polite.

In order not to make the imperative sentences seem so strict, the word ‘bitte‘ is often added. Then the sentence no longer looks like a command, but like a nice request.

Gib mir bitte das Glas Coca Cola.
Please give me the glass of Coca Cola.

Machen Sie bitte die Tür zu.
Please close the door.

Bitte gehen Sie beiseite.
Please move aside.

By the way

🐶 We use the imperative in dog commands

German Dog commands are also in the imperative form because they are short and mostly monosyllabic.

The dog can understand that well.

Typical dog commands are:

Sitz! (Er soll sich hinsetzen)
(It should sit down)

Platz! (Er soll sich hinlegen)
(It should lie down)

Bleib! (Er soll stehen bleiben)
(It should stop)

Komm! (Er soll herkommen)
(It should come)

Lauf! (Er soll loslaufen)
(It should start running)