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German Grammar; Imperative

Imperatives



Imperatives are commands. German commands are given to the second person, and they have to conform to the second-person pronouns du, ihr, and Sie. For most verbs, the imperative for du comprises the stem of the infinitive plus an -e ending. In casual speech the -e ending is often dropped.


The imperative for ihr is the same as its present-tense conjugation. This is also true for the imperative for Sie, except that the pronoun Sie always follows the imperative verb. Remember that du is used to address children, close friends, or family members. Use ihr when addressing more than one child,friend, or family member. Use Sie when addressing strangers, officials, or others you are on a formal basis with. 


Let’s look at some example verbs.

du                      ihr               Sie

Kaufe! (Kauf)  Kauft!   Kaufen Sie!    Buy!
Lache! (Lach) Lacht! Lachen Sie!   Laugh!

If the verb has an inseparable prefix, like the verb besuchen in the previous example, the verb is not affected in any way. But if the verb has a separable prefix, the prefix stands at the end of the phrase.

   du                      ihr                Sie

Höre auf! (Hör) Hört auf! Hören Sie auf! Stop!
Komme mit! (Komm) Kommt mit! Kommen Sie mit! Come along!
Stehe auf! (Steh) Steht auf! Stehen Sie auf! Stand up!
Irregular verbs are treated similarly, but those that make a vowel change in the present tense show
that change in the imperative form for du. In addition, verbs that have a vowel change in the present
tense do not have an -e ending in the imperative for du. The umlaut in the present tense of certain
irregular verbs does not affect the imperative. For example:
du ihr Sie
Gib! Gebt! Geben Sie! Give!
Befiehl! Befehlt! Befehlen Sie! Order!
Sprich aus! Sprecht aus! Sprechen Sie aus! Pronounce!
Halte! (Halt) Haltet! Halten Sie! Hold

For practice download pdf 


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