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Giving commands, instructions, warnings and advice.
Imperative sentences are used to give commands, instructions, warnings, advice, requests, invitations, or directions.
The subject is normally understood to be you, although the speaker can use additional expressions to make the intended person explicit.
A positive imperative normally uses the base form of the verb without an explicit subject.
For example, Open the window, Sit down, and Take a seat.
A negative imperative is normally formed with do not or the contracted form dont before the base verb.
For example, Do not touch that and Dont worry.
Do not is more formal or emphatic, while dont is common in everyday speech and writing.
For example, Do not enter is common in notices, while Dont forget is common in conversation.
Please can be added to an imperative to make a request more polite or less abrupt.
For example, Please sit down and Please close the door.
Please can appear before or after the imperative, although the position can affect rhythm and emphasis.
For example, Please wait here and Wait here, please.
An explicit you can be added to an imperative for emphasis, contrast, or strong emotion.
For example, You be careful and You wait here.
Do can precede a positive imperative to make it more emphatic, persuasive, or encouraging.
For example, Do come in and Do sit down.
An object can follow the imperative verb when the verb is transitive.
For example, Open the door, Call me, and Tell him the truth.
Adverbials can be added to imperatives to provide information about place, time, manner, or other circumstances.
For example, Come here, Wait outside, Drive carefully, and Call me tomorrow.
Imperatives are commonly used in instructions describing procedures and sequences of actions.
For example, Turn on the computer, enter your password, and click Submit.
Imperatives can warn someone about immediate danger or undesirable consequences.
For example, Be careful, Dont touch that, and Watch out.
Imperatives can give direct advice or recommendations.
For example, Take a break, Get some rest, and Talk to your doctor.
Positive imperatives can function as invitations when the context makes participation voluntary and welcome.
For example, Come in, Have a seat, and Join us for dinner.
Lets + base verb is used to make a suggestion involving the speaker and listener.
For example, Lets go home and Lets start the meeting.
Lets not + base verb is used to suggest that the speaker and listener avoid an action.
For example, Lets not argue about it.
Let me + base verb can express a request for permission, an offer, or an intention to perform an action.
For example, Let me help you and Let me explain.
Let us and lets have different uses: let us can mean allow us, while lets is the contracted form used for suggestions.
For example, Let us leave now can mean Allow us to leave now, while Lets leave now means I suggest that we leave now.
Be can form imperatives describing a state, quality, or behaviour.
For example, Be quiet, Be careful, and Be patient.
Negative imperatives with be use do not before be.
For example, Dont be late, Do not be afraid, and Dont be so impatient.
Some imperatives have a passive interpretation even though their grammatical form is active.
For example, Be warned and Be prepared can describe a state resulting from an action performed by someone else.
Imperatives are common in signs, instructions, warnings, regulations, and public notices.
For example, Keep off the grass, Do not enter, and Wear protective clothing.
Recipes commonly use bare imperatives to give a sequence of preparation instructions.
For example, Add the flour, mix well, and bake for twenty minutes.
Questions, modal expressions, and other structures can replace direct imperatives when greater politeness or indirectness is appropriate.
For example, Could you close the door? is generally less direct than Close the door.
The same imperative can sound like a command, request, warning, invitation, or advice depending on context, intonation, and additional expressions.
For example, Come in can be a welcoming invitation, while Stop can be a strong command or warning.
Imperatives occur in dialogue and informal narrative when speakers directly influence another person's actions.
They are especially common in instructions, emergencies, directions, and everyday requests.
Two or more imperative clauses can be coordinated to express a sequence or combination of actions.
For example, Come inside and close the door.
And can join sequential actions, while or can introduce an alternative or warning consequence.
For example, Hurry up or we will miss the train.
Imperative sentences can end with a full stop or, when strongly urgent or emotional, an exclamation mark.
For example, Please sit down. and Stop!
Form imperatives with the appropriate base verb and use do not, lets, or other structures according to the intended meaning.
Common mistakes include adding to after the imperative verb, using do-support incorrectly in positive imperatives, confusing lets with let us, and using an inappropriate negative form.