Do you know what the imperative mood is? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on imperative moods, including its definition, usage, example sentences, and more!
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Kevin
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December 6, 2021
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What is the imperative mood?
According to Walden, there are many different forms of verbs in the English language, some of which are regular verbs and some are irregular verbs in different tenses.
- Present participle tense
- Simple past tense
- Perfect passive tense
- Simple future tense
- Present perfect progressive tense
- Conditional tense
- Future progressive tense
- Present perfect tense
- Present subjunctive tense
- Present perfect continuous tense
- Future perfect progressive tense
- Past progressive tense
- Infinitive tense
- Gerund tense or gerund phrase
- Conditional perfect progressive tense
- Past progressive/continuous tense
- Present indicative tense
- Indicative tense
- Past perfect progressive tense
- Simple present tense
- Past participle tense
- Present continuous tense
- Present progressive tense
- Conditional perfect tense
- Past perfect tense
- Future perfect tense
- Simple conditional tense
- Imperative tense
- Present perfect progressive/continuous tense
- Bare infinitive tense
- Conditional progressive tense
- To-infinitive tense
Today we will explore the imperative mood. Imperatives are commands. There are affirmative imperatives and negative imperatives, which are commands to do something or not to do something. Imperatives can come in the present tense, past tense, or future tense as can many other verb forms. Opposed to the indicative mood, the imperative form has a subject of “you” and is in the second person conjugation often, and the subject pronoun you is usually omitted, although it can be included for emphasis. The imperative conjugation is often not used in a formal situation.
Spanish also has imperative verb forms just like English verbs. Below are the conjugation structures for the tú form, usted form, nosotros form, and ustedes forms of verbs from Baselang. Ar verbs, er verbs, and ir verbs are conjugated differently. These are not used with él and ella in the third person. Often, objects pronouns are involved. Like inn English, you can have a negative tú command or affirmative tú commands. Some irregular verbs include venir ( to come), which is conjugated ven, no vengas, venga, vengan, vengamos, ser (to be) with sea, seamos, sean, salir, and more. IT is a necessity to be aware of the irregular verbs.
- Déjame pagar – Let me pay
- Ten algo de paciencia – Have some patience
- No escuchen música con tanto volumen – Don’t listen to music so loud
- Haz el esfuerzo – Make the effort
- Vaya a la playa – Go to the beach
- ¡No digas nada! – Don’t say anything!
- Tomemos un café – Let’s have a coffee
- Vayamos a comer algo – Let’s eat something
- Compra algo para cenar, por favor – Buy something for dinner, please
- Dime un bebe – Give me a baby
- Hablen sobre sus planes – Talk about your plans
- Come tus vegetales – Eat your greens
Many different languages also contain words that mean imperative mood. You may notice that some of these translations of imperative mood look and sound similar to one another. These are called cognates, which are words and phrases in different languages that likely have the same root or language of origin, causing them to sound the same. The below list of translations of imperative mood is provided by Word Sense.
- Spanish: modo imperativo (masc.)
- Old French: imperatif (masc.)
- Turkish: emir kipi
- French: impératif (masc.)
- Latin: (modus) imperativus (masc.)
- Hungarian: felszólító mód, imperativusz
- German: Imperativ (masc.), Befehlsform (fem.)
- Icelandic: boðháttur (masc.), bh. (masc.)
- Swedish: imperativ (neut.)
- Slovene: velelnik (masc.)
- Italian: imperativo (masc.)
- Armenian: հրամայական եղանակ
- Japanese: 命令法 (めいれいほう, meirei-hō)
- Tagalog: panaganong pautos
- Estonian: käskiv
- Khmer: អាណត្តិ (आणत्ति, ʔaanat, ʔaanatteʔ)
- Greek: προστακτική (fem.)
- Albanian: mënyra urdhërore (fem.)
- Dutch: gebiedende wijs (masc.)
- Macedonian: заповеден начин
- Czech: rozkazovací způsob (masc.)
- Arabic: صِيغَة اَلْأَمْر
- Persian: امری (amri)
- Scottish Gaelic: modh àithneach (masc.)
- Vietnamese: mệnh lệnh cách (命令格)
- Faroese: boðsháttur (masc.)
- Mandarin: 祈使語氣, 祈使语气 (qíshǐ yǔqì)
- Danish: bydeform (common)
- Lithuanian: liepiamoji nuosaka (fem.)
- Portuguese: imperativo (masc.)
- Romanian: mod imperativ (neut.), imperativ (neut.)
- Russian: повели́тельное наклоне́ние (neut.)
- Polish: tryb rozkazujący (masc.)
What is an example of an imperative sentence?
An imperative sentence can be used in many different contexts in the English language. Trying to use a word or literary technique in a sentence is one of the best ways to memorize what it is, but you can also try making flashcards or quizzes that test your knowledge. Try using this term of the day in a sentence today! Below are a couple of examples of imperative sentences that can help get you started incorporating this tool into your everyday use. Take a look at these imperative sentence examples from Your Dictionary and Learn Grammar!
- Watch your step before taking it.
- Preheat the oven.
- Drop your weapons, Vin Diesel has you surrounded.
- Play ball!
- Please be quiet.
- Wear your gold necklace with that dress.
- Make your own premium custom course so you can study what you want.
- Pass the salt.
- Play with intensity and courage.
- Never forget the person who loves you.
- Take a step and don’t move.
- Be nice to your friends.
- Please forgive my meticulousness but you have spelled it wrong.
- Do good work on your math practice tests so you don’t fail your exams.
- Write whenever you get a chance.
- Don’t stay out at night.
- Use oil in the pan.
- Don’t rush or you will fall.
- Please open the door quickly.
- Move out of my way!
- Clean your room.
- Consider the red dress.
- Shut the front door.
- Log in to the portal so you can track course progress and the lesson summary.
- Kindly bring the book to me.
- Please join us for dinner.
- Read a lot to improve your writing skill.
- You wash your hand first and then eat.
- Don’t be excited about everything without reason.
- Don’t eat that whelk.
- Bring me a glass of water.
- Don’t ever call me a loser.
- Remember me when we are parted.
- Get out!
- Choose Eamonn, not Seamus.
- John, don’t eat all the cookies.
- Be there at five.
- Make sure you pack warm clothes.
- Give me a pen and a pencil.
- The unlimited access from the premium upgrade isn’t working; contact customer support.
- Come out with us tonight.
- Have a cup of cappuccino.
- You need to travel to Georgia and Alabama this fall for work.
- Find my leather jacket.
- Choose the Irish wolfhound, not the German shepherd.
- Complete these by tomorrow.
- Please grant me a loan.
- Stop feeding the dog from the table.
- Wait for me.
- Listen to the manuals and read the road signs for your driving test.
- Don’t ever touch my phone.
Overall, the imperative mood forms a command.
Sources:
- Glossary of grammatical terms | OED
- Imperative Sentence Examples | Your Dictionary
- imperative mood: meaning, translation, synonyms | Word Sense
- Examples of Imperative Sentence | Learn English
- Verb Forms: “-ing,” Infinitives, and Past Participles – Grammar – Academic Guides | Walden University
- Spanish Commands: The Imperative Mood Made Simple | Baselang
