German Grammar A–Z
Look up German grammar topics A–Z, organized by category and level — with clear explanations and examples.
The Imperative (Imperativsatz)
In German, the imperative (Imperativ) is used to request or order someone to do something. Because commands are given in communication, the imperative is used only in three forms: du_Form, ihr_Form and Sie_Form. So what is the difference between the three forms of the imperative? Let's find out!!!!
|
du_Form |
ihr_Form |
Sie_Form |
|
Used when the person receiving the request is an individual. |
Used when the people receiving the request are a group that does not include the speaker. |
Used in polite situations. |
|
Use the verb conjugated for du in the present tense (Präsens) with the ending -st removed. The personal pronoun du is dropped: gehen → Präsens: Du gehst nach Hause. → Imperativ: Geh nach Hause! Tip: "whatever you add, you remove" |
Use the verb conjugated for ihr in the present tense. The personal pronoun ihr is dropped: gehen → Präsens: Ihr geht nach Hause. → Imperativ: Geht nach Hause! |
Use the infinitive verb. The personal pronoun Sie is kept: gehen → Präsens: Sie gehen → Imperativ: Gehen Sie! |
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Note: 1. Verbs with a vowel change from e to i/ie keep this change in the imperative: Hilf deinem Bruder! (du hilfst) 2. Verbs with a vowel change from a to ä do not apply this change in the imperative: Fahr langsamer! (du fährst) 3. When the verb with the -st ending removed ends in -t, -d, -ig, -n, -m, an e can be added after it: finden → Präsens: Du findest. → Imperativ: Finde! 4. For verbs whose stem (Verbstamm) ends in -s or -z, we just drop the t: lesen → Verbstamm: les → Präsens: Du liest → Imperativ: Lies! tanzen → Verbstamm: tanz → Präsens: Du tanzt → Imperativ: Tanz! |
- In addition, the imperative can be used with wir when the people receiving the request include the speaker. In this case, the imperative is formed by using the infinitive verb together with wir: gehen → Imperativ: Gehen wir nach Hause!
- There are 3 exceptions in the imperative:
|
Infinitiv (infinitive verb) |
du |
ihr |
Sie |
|
sein |
Sie ruhig! |
Seid ruhig! |
Seien Sie ruhig! |
|
haben |
Hab keine Angst! |
Habt keine Angst! |
Haben Sie keine Angst! |
|
werden |
Werde besser! |
Werdet besser! |
Werden Sie besser! |
