Imperative mood

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The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request.

An example of a verb used in the imperative mood is the English phrase "Die." Such imperatives imply a second-person subject (you), but some other languages also have first- and third-person imperatives, with the meaning of "let's (do something)" or "let him/her/them (do something)" (the forms may alternatively be called cohortative and jussive).

Imperative mood can be denoted by the glossing abbreviation IMP. It is one of the irrealis moods.

Contents

1 Formation

2 Syntax and negation

3 Usage

4 In particular languages

4.1 English

4.2 Latin

4.3 Germanic languages

4.3.1 Dutch

4.3.2 German

4.4 Romance languages

4.4.1 French

4.4.2 Spanish

4.4.3 Portuguese

4.5 Indic Languages

4.5.1 Hindi

4.5.1.1 Command Imperatives

4.5.1.2 Command Imperatives for Compound Verbs

4.5.1.3 Subjunctive Imperatives

4.6 Other Indo-European languages

4.6.1 Greek

4.6.2 Irish

4.6.3 Sanskrit

4.6.4 Bengali

4.7 Non-Indo-European languages

4.7.1 Finnish

4.7.2 Hebrew and Arabic

4.7.3 Japanese

4.7.4 Korean

4.7.5 Mandarin

4.7.6 Turkish

5 Footnotes

6 References

Formation[edit]

Imperative mood is often expressed using special conjugated verb forms. Like other finite verb forms, imperatives often inflect for person and number. Second-person imperatives (used for ordering or requesting performance directly from the person being addressed) are most common, but some languages also have imperative forms for the first and third persons (alternatively called cohortative and jussive respectively).

In English, the imperative is formed using the bare infinitive form of the verb (see English verbs for more details). This is usually also the same as the second-person present indicative form, except in the case of the verb to be, where the imperative is be while the indicative is are. (The present subjunctive always has the same form as the imperative, although it is negated differently – the imperative is negated using do not, as in "Don't touch me!"; see do-support. Occasionally do is not used: Dare not touch me!) The imperative form is understood as being in the second person (the subject pronoun you is usually omitted, although it can be included for emphasis), with no explicit indication of singular or plural. First and third person imperatives are expressed periphrastically, using a construction with the imperative of the verb let:

Let me (Let's) see. (Internal monologue equivalent to a first person singular imperative))

Let us (Let's) go. (equivalent to a first person plural imperative)

Let us be heard. (Royal we in an equivalent to a first person passive imperative; also constructions like "We are to be heard")

Let him/her/it/them run. (equivalent to a third person imperative; constructions with may are also used)

Let him/her/it/them be counted. (Equivalent to a third person passive imperative)

Other languages such as Latin, French and German have a greater variety of inflected imperative forms, marked for person and number, their formation often depending on a verb's conjugation pattern. Examples can be found in the specific language sections below. In languages that make a T–V distinction (tu vs. vous, du vs. Sie, você vs. tu, tu vs. usted, etc.) the use of particular forms of the second person imperative may also be dependent on the degree of familiarity between the speaker and the addressee, as with other verb forms.

The second person singular imperative often consists of just the stem of the verb, without any ending – this is the case in the Slavic languages, for example.

Syntax and negation[edit]

Imperative sentences sometimes use different syntax than declarative or other types of clauses. There may also be differences of syntax between affirmative and negative imperative sentences. In some cases the imperative form of the verb is itself different when negated. A distinct negative imperative form is sometimes said to be in prohibitive or vetative mood (abbreviated PROH).

Many languages, even not normally null-subject languages, omit the subject pronoun in imperative sentences, as usually occurs in English (see below). Details of the syntax of imperative sentences in certain other languages, and of differences between affirmative and negative imperatives, can be found in some of the other specific language sections below.

Usage[edit]

Imperatives are used principally for ordering, requesting or advising the listener to do (or not to do) something: "Put down the gun!"; "Pass me the sauce"; "Don't go too near the tiger." They are also often used for giving instructions as to how to perform a task ("Install the file, then restart your computer"). They can sometimes be seen on signs giving orders or warnings ("Stop"; "Give way"; "Do not enter").

The use of the imperative mood may be seen as impolite, inappropriate or even offensive in certain circumstances.[1] In polite speech, orders or requests are often phrased instead as questions or statements, rather than as imperatives:

Could you come here for a moment? (more polite than "Come here!")

It would be great if you made us a drink. (for "Make us a drink!")

I have to ask you to stop. (for "Stop!")

Politeness strategies (for instance, indirect speech acts) can seem more appropriate in order not to threaten a conversational partner in their needs of self-determination and territory: the partner's negative face should not appear threatened.[2] As well as the replacement of imperatives with other sentence types as discussed above, there also often exist methods of phrasing an imperative in a more polite manner, such as the addition of a word like please or a phrase like if you could.

Imperatives are also used for speech acts whose function is essentially not to make an order or request, but to give an invitation, give permission, express a wish, make an apology, etc.:

Come to the party tomorrow! (invitation)

Eat the apple if you want. (permission)

Have a nice trip! (wish)

Pardon me. (apology)

When written, imperative sentences are often, but not always, terminated with an exclamation mark.

First person plural imperatives (cohortatives) are used mainly for suggesting an action to be performed together by the speaker and the addressee (and possibly other people): "Let's go to Barbados this year"; "Let us pray". Third person imperatives (jussives) are used to suggest or order that a third party or parties be permitted or made to do something: "Let them eat cake"; "Let him be executed".

There is an additional imperative form that is used for general prohibitions, consisting of the word "no" followed by the gerund form. The best known examples are "No Smoking" and "No Parking". This form does not have a positive form; that is, "Parking" by itself has no meaning unless used as a noun when it tells that parking is permitted.

In particular languages[edit]

For more details on imperatives in the languages listed below, and in languages that are not listed, see the articles on the grammar of the specific languages.

English[edit]

English usually omits the subject pronoun in imperative sentences:

You work hard. (indicative)

Work hard! (imperative; subject pronoun you omitted)

However, it is possible to include the you in imperative sentences for emphasis.

English imperatives are negated using don't (as in "Don't work!") This is a case of do-support as found in indicative clauses; however in the imperative it applies even in the case of the verb be (which does not use do-support in the indicative):

You are not late. (indicative)

Don't be late! (imperative)

It is also possible to use do-support in affirmative imperatives, for emphasis or (sometimes) politeness: "Do be quiet!"; "Do help yourself!".

The subject you may be included for emphasis in negated imperatives as well, following don't: "Don't you dare do that again!"

Latin[edit]

Further information: Latin syntax § The imperative mood

Latin regular imperatives include amā (2nd pers. singular) and amāte (2nd pers. plural), from the infinitive amāre ("to love"); similarly monē and monēte from monēre ("to advise/warn"); audī and audīte from audīre ("to hear"), etc. The negative imperative is formed with the infinitive of the verb, preceded by the imperative of nōlle ("to not want"): nōlī stāre ("don't stand", 2nd pers. singular) and nōlīte stāre (2nd pers. plural); compare the positive imperative stā ("stand", 2nd pers. singular) and stāte (2nd pers. plural).

For third-person imperatives, the subjunctive mood is used instead.

Latin also has a future imperative form. The corresponding forms are amātō (singular) and amātōte (plural), monētō and monētōte, audītō and audītōte. Unlike the present imperative, the future imperative also has special forms for the third person (amantō, monentō, audiuntō). See Latin conjugation.

Germanic languages[edit]

Dutch[edit]

A peculiar feature of Dutch is that it can form an imperative mood in the pluperfect tense. Its use is fairly common:[3]

Had gebeld! ("You should have called!", "If only you had called")

Was gekomen! ("You should have come!", "If only you had come")

German[edit]

German verbs have a singular and a plural imperative. The singular imperative is equivalent to the bare stem or the bare stem + -e. (In most verbs, both ways are correct.) The plural imperative is the same as the second-person plural of the present tense.

sing! or: singe! – said to one person: "sing!"

singt! – said to a group of persons: "sing!"

In order to emphasize their addressee, German imperatives can be followed by the nominative personal pronouns du ("thou; you [sg.]") or ihr ("you [pl.]"), respectively. For example: Geh weg! – Geh du doch weg! ("Go away!" – "Why, you go away!").

German has T/V distinction, which means that the pronouns du and ihr are used chiefly towards persons with whom one is privately acquainted, which holds true for the corresponding imperatives. (For details see German grammar.) Otherwise, the social-distance pronoun Sie ("you") is used for both singular and plural. Since there exists no actual imperative corresponding to Sie, the form is paraphrased with the third-person plural of the present subjunctive followed by the pronoun:

singen Sie! – said to one or more persons: "sing!"

seien Sie still! – said to one or more persons: "be quiet!"

Like English, German features many constructions that express commands, wishes, etc. They are thus semantically related to imperatives without being imperatives grammatically:

lasst uns singen! ("let's sing!")

mögest du singen! ("may you sing!")

du sollst singen! ("you shall sing!")

Romance languages[edit]

French[edit]

Examples of regular imperatives in French are mange (2nd pers. singular), mangez (2nd pers. plural) and mangeons (1st person plural, "let's eat"), from manger ("to eat") – these are similar or identical to the corresponding present indicative forms, although there are some irregular imperatives that resemble the present subjunctives, such as sois, soyez and soyons, from être ("to be"). A third person imperative can be formed using a subjunctive clause with the conjunction que, as in qu'ils mangent de la brioche ("let them eat cake").

French uses different word order for affirmative and negative imperative sentences:

Donne-le-leur. ("Give it to them.")

Ne le leur donne pas. ("Don't give it to them.")

The negative imperative (prohibitive) has the same word order as the indicative. See French personal pronouns § Clitic order for detail. Like in English, imperative sentences often end with an exclamation mark, e.g. to emphasize an order.

In French there is a very distinctive imperative which is the imperative mood of preterite tense also called (past imperative or imperative of future perfect), expresses a given order with previous future value which must be executed or fulfilled in a future not immediate, as if it were an action to come, but earlier in relation to another that will also happen in the future. However, this type of imperative is peculiar to French which has only one purpose: to order that something be done before the date or time, therefore, this will always be accompanied by a circumstantial complement of time. However, this imperative is formed with the auxiliary verb of the avoir compound tenses and with the auxiliary verb être that is also used to form the tenses composed of the pronominal verbs and some of the intransitive verbs, this means that the structure of the verb imperative in its entirety is composed. Examples:

Imperative of preterite tense

Persons | First conjugation | Second conjugation | Third conjugation
With the verb avoir
2nd sing. | aie aimé | aie fini | aie ouvert | aie reçu | aie rendu | aie mis
1st plural | ayons aimé | ayons fini | ayons ouvert | ayons reçu | ayons rendu | ayons mis
2nd plural | ayez aimé | ayez fini | ayez ouvert | ayez reçu | ayez rendu | ayez mis
With the verb être
2nd sing. | sois allé | sois parti | sois venu | sois mort | sois né | sois devenu
1st plural | soyons allés | soyons partis | soyons venus | soyons morts | soyons nés | soyons devenus
2nd plural | soyez allés | soyez partis | soyez venus | soyez morts | soyez nés | soyez devenus

Soyez levés demain avant huit heures. (Get up tomorrow before eight o'clock.) [With the verb être]

Ayez fini le travail avant qu'il (ne) fasse nuit. (Finish the work before it gets dark.) [With the verb avoir and optional expletive ne]

Aie écrit le livre demain. (Write the book tomorrow.) [With the verb avoir]

Soyez partis à midi. (Leave at noon.) [With the verb être]

Ayons fini les devoirs à 6 h. (Let us complete homework at 6 o'clock.) [With the verb avoir]

In English there is no equivalent grammatical structure to form this tense of the imperative mood; it is translated in imperative mood of present with previous value.

Spanish[edit]

In Spanish, imperatives for the familiar singular second person (tú) are usually identical to indicative forms for the singular third person. However, there are irregular verbs for which unique imperative forms for tú exist. vos (alternative to tú) usually takes the same forms as tú (usually with slightly different emphasis) but unique forms exist for it as well. vosotros (plural familiar second person) also takes unique forms for the imperative.

Infinitive

3rd pers.
indicative

tú
imperative

vos
imperative

usted
imperative

vosotros / vosotras
imperative

ustedes
imperative

comer | come | come | comé* | coma | comed* | coman
beber | bebe | bebe | bebé* | beba | bebed* | beban
tener | tiene | ten* | tené* | tenga | tened* | tengan
decir | dice | di* | decí* | diga | decid* | digan
* = unique verb that only exists for this imperative form

If an imperative takes a pronoun as an object, it is appended to the verb; for example, Dime ("Tell me"). Pronouns can be stacked like they can in indicative clauses:

Me lo dices. ("You tell me it" or "You tell it to me", can also mean "You tell me" as lo usually isn't translated)

Dímelo. ("Tell me it", "Tell it to me", "Tell me")

Imperatives can be formed for usted (singular formal second person), ustedes (plural second person), and nosotros (plural first person) from the respective present subjunctive form. Negative imperatives for these pronouns (as well as tú, vos, and vosotros) are also formed this way, but are negated by no (e.g. No cantes, "Don't sing").

Portuguese[edit]

In Portuguese, affirmative imperatives for singular and plural second person (tu / vós) derive from their respective present indicative conjugations, after having their final -s dropped.[pt 1] On the other hand, their negative imperatives are formed by their respective subjunctive forms, as well as both affirmative and negative imperatives for treatment pronouns (você(s)) and plural first person (nós).

Infinitive

tu
indicative

vós
indicative

affirmative tu
imperative

affirmative vós
imperative

negative tu
imperative

negative vós
imperative

você
imperative

vocês
imperative

nós
imperative

comer | comes | comeis | come | comei | não comas | não comais | (não) coma | (não) comam | (não) comamos
beber | bebes | bebeis | bebe | bebei | não bebas | não bebais | (não) beba | (não) bebam | (não) bebamos
ter | tens | tendes | tem | tende | não tenhas | não tenhais | (não) tenha | (não) tenham | (não) tenhamos
dizer | dizes | dizeis | diz(e) | dizei | não digas | não digais | (não) diga | (não) digam | (não) digamos

^ There are some exceptions to this rule; mainly for phonetical reasons and for vós, which hold vós's archaic conjugation paradigm, -des.

If a verb takes a pronoun, it should be appended to the verb:

Diz(e)-me. ("Tell me") Portugal/Brazil

Me diz. ("Tell me") Brazil (spoken)

Diz(e)-mo. ("Tell me it", "Tell it to me")

Indic Languages[edit]

Hindi[edit]

In Hindi there are two ways to form the imperatives. First, by conjugating the verbs to their imperative forms (the command imperative), and second, from the subjunctive mood verb forms (the subjunctive imperative). For negative imperatives, Hindi uses the preposition मत (mat) [meaning, "not"] or नहीं (nahī̃) [meaning "no"/"not"] (with मत being a stronger negation than नहीं) before the command imperative verb forms. However, in certain contexts मत (mat) can also appear after the verb. The preposition ना (nā) or न (na) [meaning "not"] is used before the subjunctive imperative forms.

In most cases, the command and the subjunctive imperatives are not used interchangeably. The command imperatives are used to give direct orders, which may sometimes sound rude or condescending and hence the subjunctive imperative is used to tone down the directness of the command imperative form, when needed. The subjunctive imperative is most often used in formal situations or other situations where you cannot command someone out of respect. A rough difference in nuance can be shown by the following sentences: "Do not shout." (analogous to command imperative) and "Please do not shout." (analogous to subjunctive imperative).

A peculiar feature of Hindi is that it has imperatives in two tenses; present and the future tense.[4] The present tense imperative gives command in the present and future imperative gives command for the future. The command imperative can be formed only for the 2nd person singular and plural pronouns but the subjunctive imperative can be formed for both the 2nd and the 3rd person for both singular and plural pronouns.

Command Imperatives[edit]

Command Imperative Forms

Infinitive

तू (tū)
2P (singular)

[You - Intimate]

तुम (tum)
2P (singular & plural)

[You - Neutral]

आप (āp)
2P (singular & plural)

[You - Honorary]

Present | Future | Present | Future | Present | Future
Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative

करना
(karnā)

to do

कर
(kar)

मत कर
(mat kar)

करना
(karnā)

मत करना
(mat karnā)

करो
(karo)

मत करो
(mat karo)

करना
(karnā)

मत करना
(mat karnā)

कीजिये
(kījiye)

मत कीजिये
(mat kījiyegā)

कीजियेगा
(kījiyegā)

मत कीजियेगा
(mat kījiyegā)

मरना
(marnā)

to die

मर
(mar)

मत मर
(mat mar)

मरना
(marnā)

मत मरना
(mat marnā)

मरो
(maro)

मत मरो
(mat maro)

मरना
(marnā)

मत मरना
(mat marnā)

मरिये
(mariye)

मत मारिये
(mat mariye)

मरियेगा
(mariyegā)

मत मरियेगा
(mat mariyegā)

जीना
(jīnā)

to live

जी
(jī)

मत जी
(mat jī)

जीना
(jīnā)

मत जीना
(mat jīnā)

जियो
(jīyo)

मत जियो
(mat jiyo)

जीना
(jīnā)

मत जीना
(mat jīnā)

जीइये
(jī'iye)

मत जीइये
(mat jī'iye)

जीइयेगा
(jī'iyegā)

मत जीइयेगा
(mat jī'iyegā)

पीना
(pīnā)

to drink

पी
(pī)

मत पी
(mat pī)

पीना
(pīnā)

मत पीना
(mat pīnā)

पियो
(pīyo)

मत पियो
(mat piyo)

पीना
(pīnā)

मत पीना
(mat pīnā)

पीजिये
(pījiye)

मत पीजिये
(mat pījiye)

पीजियेगा
(pījiyegā)

मत पीजियेगा
(mat pījiyegā)

लेना
(lenā)

to take

ले
(le)

मत ले
(mat le)

लेना
(lenā)

मत लेना
(mat lenā)

लो
(lo)

मत लो
(mat lo)

लेना
(lenā)

मत लेना
(mat lenā)

लीजिये
(lījiye)

मत लीजिये
(mat lījiye)

लीजियेगा
(lījiyegā)

मत लीजियेगा
(mat lījiyegā)

Command Imperatives for Compound Verbs[edit]

For compound verbs of Hindi the imperatives are formed by conjugating the verb at the end to their imperative forms. मत (mat) can be put either before or after the first verb when forming the negative imperatives. So, मत पी लेना (mat pī lenā) [do not drink (something)] and पी मत लेना (pī mat lenā) [do not drink (something)] both are correct and mean the same.

Sometimes, when the final verb in the compound verb is of just one syllable after conjugating (and is not just a vowel), then for certain such verbs, the final verb in the compound verb and the first verb (also called the root verb) are combined together and written as one single word. For example, पीलो (pīlo) [drink (it)!] and पीले (pīle) [drink (it)!], देदे (dede) [give (it)!] and देदो (dedo) [give (it)!]. Writing them separately as पी लो (pī lo) and पी ले (pī le), दे दे (de de) and दे दो (de do) are also considered correct but are less common in the written language.

Combining the above two points, it can be concluded that दे मत दो (de mat do) and मत देदो (mat dedo) both are equivalent ways of writing the same sentence meaning "Do not give (it)!".

Formation of Command Imperative for compound verbs is shown in the table below:

Infinitive

तू (tū)
2P (singular)

[You - Intimate]

तुम (tum)
2P (singular & plural)

[You - Neutral]

आप (āp)
2P (singular & plural)

[You - Honorary]

Present | Future | Present | Future | Present | Future
Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative

पी लेना
(pīnā)

to drink up /
to drink (honorary)

पीले
(pī-le)

पी मत ले
(pī mat le)

पी लेना
(pī lenā)

पी मत लेना
(pī mat lenā)

पीलो
(pī-lo)

पी मत लो
(pī mat lo)

पी लेना
(pī lenā)

पी मत लेना
(pī mat lenā)

पी लीजिये
(pī lījiye)

पी मत लीजिये
(pī mat lījiye)

पी लीजियेगा
(pī lījiyegā)

पी मत लीजियेगा
(pm at pljiyegā)

ले लेना
(le lenā)

to take back /
to keep for oneself /

to take away

लेले
(le-le)

ले मत ले
(le mat le)

ले लेना
(le lenā)

ले मत लेना
(le mat lenā)

लेलो
(le-lo)

ले मत लो
(le mat lo)

ले लेना
(le lenā)

ले मत लेना
(le mat lenā)

ले लीजिये
(le lījiye)

ले मत लीजिये
(le mat lījiye)

ले लीजियेगा
(le lījiyegā)

ले मत लीजियेगा
(le mat lījiyegā)

दे देना
(de denā)

to give away /
to give (honorary)

देदे
(de-de)

दे मत दे
(de mat de)

दे देना
(de denā)

दे मत देना
(de mat denā)

देदो
(de-do)

दे मत दो
(de mat do)

दे देना
(de denā)

दे मत देना
(de mat denā)

दे दीजिये
(de dījiye)

दे मत दीजिये
(de mat dījiye)

दे दीजियेगा
(de dījiyegā)

दे मत दीजियेगा
(de mat dījiyegā)

चले आना
(chale ānā)

to come back /
to return

चले आ
(chale ā)

चले मत आ
(chale mat ā)

चले आना
(chale ānā)

चले मत आना
(chale mat ānā)

चले आओ
(chale āo)

चले मत आओ
(chale mat āo)

चले आना
(chale ānā)

चले मत आना
(chale mat ānā)

चले आइये
(chale āiye)

चले मत आइये
(chale mat āiye)

चले आइयेगा
(chale āiyegā)

चले मत आइयेगा
(chale mat āiyegā)

फट जाना
(phat jānā)

to get torn (apart) /
to get blasted

फट जा
(phat jā)

फट मत जा
(phat mat jā)

फट जाना
(phat jānā)

फट मत जाना
(phat mat jānā)

फट जाओ
(phat jāo)

फट मत जाओ
(phat mat jāo)

फट जाना
(phat jānā)

फट मत जाना
(phat mat jānā)

फट जाइये
(phat jāiye)

फट मत जाइये
(phat mat jāiye)

फट जाइएगा
(phat jāiyegā)

फट मत जाइएगा
(phat mat jāiyegā)

ऐसा मत करो! (aisā mat karo!) - Don't do (like) this!

ऐसा मत करना! (aisā mat karnā!) - Don't do (like) this! (in the future)

आप वहाँ जाइयेगा और उसे बोलियेगा। (āp vahā̃ jāiyegā aur use boliyegā.) - You will (imperative) go there and (you will) tell her (or him).

इसे पानी में मिला और पीले। (ise pānī mē̃ milāo aur pīlo.) - Mix this in water and drink (it).

तुम तो बोलो ही मत। (tum to bolo hī mat.) - You don't (even) say!

किसीको बिना बताये ऐसे ही मत चले आओ। (kisko binā batāye aise hī mat chale āo.) - Don't just leave without telling anyone.

समय है अभी आओ मेरे साथ। (samay hai abhī āo mere sāth.) - There is time. Come with me!

समय होगा तब आना मेरे साथ। (samay hogā tab ānā mere sāth.) - Come with me when you will have time.

Subjunctive Imperatives[edit]

The formation of imperatives from subjunctives makes it possible for Hindi to have third person imperatives.[5] Although Hindi has subjunctive forms for the all the grammatical persons, not all of them can be used to form subjunctive imperatives. The 1st person singular and plural subjunctive forms are not shown in the table below because they cannot be used to form neither positive nor negative imperatives. Subjunctives in some grammatical persons, namely, the 2nd person intimate and the 2nd person neutral, can be used as subjunctive imperatives only when they are negatives.[6] The way to form subjunctive imperatives for compound verbs is exactly the same as shown for the command imperatives for compound verbs. Take the root verb and add the subjunctive conjugation of the final verb after it to form the positive imperative and add न (na) or ना (nā) before the root verb. In this case the position of न (na) or ना (nā) is strictly fixed and it can be present only before the root verb and never after it. Note that the subjunctive imperatives cannot be used to give future commands but only commands in the present.

Subjunctive Imperative Forms

Infinitive

तू (tū)
2P (singular)

[You - Intimate]

तुम (tum)
2P (singular)

[You - Neutral]

आप (āp)
2P (singular)

[You - Honorary]

यह/वह (yah/vah) & ये/वो (ye/vo)
3P (singular)

[This/That] [Literary & Colloquial]

Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative

करना
(karnā)

positive subjunctive
imperative forms

do not exist for तू (tū)

ना कर
(nā kar)

positive subjunctive
imperative forms

do not exist for तुम (tum)

ना करो
(nā karo)

करें
(karẽ)

ना करें
(nā karẽ)

करे
(kare)

ना करे
(nā kare)

मरना
(marnā)

ना मर
(nā mar)

ना मरो
(nā maro)

मरें
(marẽ)

ना मरें
(nā marẽ)

मरे
(mare)

ना मरे
(nā mare)

जीना
(jīnā)

ना जी
(nā jī)

ना जियो
(nā jiyo)

जियें
(jiyẽ)

ना जियें
(nā jiỹẽ)

जिये
(jiye)

ना जिये
(nā jiye)

पीना
(pīnā)

ना पी
(nā pī)

ना पियो
(nā piyo)

पियें
(piyẽ)

ना पियें
(nā piyẽ)

पिये
(piye)

ना पिये
(nā piye)

Infinitive

---
2P (plural)

[You (all) - Intimate]

तुम (tum)
2P (plural)

[You (all) - Neutral]

आप (āp)
2P (plural)

[You (all) - Honorary]

ये/वे (ye/ve) & ये/वो (ye/vo)
3P (plural)

[This/That] [Literary & Colloquial]

Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative | Positive | Negative

करना
(karnā)

No plural pronoun exists for तू (tū)

positive subjunctive
imperative forms

do not exist for तुम (tum)

ना करो
(nā karo)

करें
(karẽ)

ना करें
(nā karẽ)

करें
(karẽ)

ना करें
(nā karẽ)

मरना
(marnā)

ना मरो
(nā maro)

मरें
(marẽ)

ना मरें
(nā marẽ)

मरें
(marẽ)

ना मरें
(nā marẽ)

जीना
(jīnā)

ना जियो
(nā jiyo)

जियें
(jiyẽ)

ना जियें
(nā jiyẽ)

जियें
(jiyẽ)

ना जियें
(nā jiyẽ)

पीना
(pīnā)

ना पियो
(nā piyo)

पियें
(piyẽ)

ना पियें
(nā piyẽ)

पियें
(piyẽ)

ना पियें
(nā piyẽ)

आप और ना बोलें। (āp aur nā bolē̃.) - Do not speak more.

ऐसा ना करो मुझे अच्छा नहीं लगता है। (aisā nā karo mujhe achchhā nahī̃ lagtā hai.) - (Please) do not do that, I do not like it. [Note: Please is added in the translation because of the subjunctive imperative.]

वो इस गिटार को बजाये। (vo is gitār ko bajāye.) - He play (imperative) this guitar. [English has no exact translation.]

वो अपना काम करे और मेरेको परेशान ना करे! (vo apnā kām kare aur mereko pareshān nā kare!) - He mind (imperative) his own business and do not disturb me! [English has no exact translation.]

बैठें और क्लास में ध्यान दें , आपके इग्ज़ाम में इसीलिए नंबर कम आते हैं। (baithē̃ aur klās mē̃ dhyān dē̃, āpke igzām mē̃ isīliye nambar kam āte hā̃ī̃.) - Sit down and pay attention in class, this is why your marks are so low in exams.

तू गाने ना गा यार बहौत बेसुरा है। (tū gāne nā gā yār bahaut besurā hai.) - (Please) do not sing man! You sing really bad. [lit. Do not sing friend/dude, it is really disharmonious.]

Other Indo-European languages[edit]

Greek[edit]

Ancient Greek has imperative forms for present, aorist, and perfect tenses for the active, middle, and passive voices. Within these tenses, forms exist for second and third persons, for singular, dual, and plural subjects. Subjunctive forms with μή are used for negative imperatives in the aorist.

Present Active Imperative: 2nd sg. λεῖπε, 3rd sg. λειπέτω, 2nd pl. λείπετε, 3rd pl. λειπόντων.

Irish[edit]

Irish has imperative forms in all three persons and both numbers, although the first person singular is most commonly found in the negative (e.g. ná cloisim sin arís "let me not hear that again").

Sanskrit[edit]

In Sanskrit, लोट् लकार् (lōṭ lakār) is used with the verb to form the imperative mood. To form the negative, न (na) is placed before the verb in the imperative mood.

Bengali[edit]

Standard modern Bengali uses the negative postposition /nā/ after a future imperative formed using the -iyo fusional suffix (in addition, umlaut vowel changes in the verb root might take place).

Non-Indo-European languages[edit]

Finnish[edit]

In Finnish, there are two ways of forming a first-person plural imperative. A standard version exists, but it is typically replaced colloquially by the impersonal tense. For example, from mennä ("to go"), the imperative "let's go" can be expressed by menkäämme (standard form) or mennään (colloquial).

Forms also exist for second (sing. mene, plur. menkää) and third (sing. menköön, plur. menkööt) person. Only first person singular does not have an imperative.

Hebrew and Arabic[edit]

Generally, in Semitic languages, every word belongs to a word-family, and is, actually, a conjugation of word-family's three consonant roots. The various conjugations are made by adding vowels to the root consonants and by adding prefixes, in front or after the root consonant. For example, the conjugations of the root K.T.B (כ.ת.ב. ك.ت.ب), both in Hebrew and in Arabic, are words that have something to do with writing. Nouns like a reporter or a letter and verbs like to write or to dictate are conjugations of the root K.T.B. The verbs are further conjugated to bodies, times, and so on.

Both in classic Hebrew and in classic Arabic, there is a form for positive imperative. It exists for singular and plural, masculine and feminine second-person. The imperative conjugations look like shortages of the future ones. However, in modern Hebrew, the future tense is often used in its place in colloquial speech, and the proper imperative form is considered formal or of higher register.

The negative imperative in those languages is more complicated. In modern Hebrew, for instance, it contains a synonym of the word "no", that is used only in negative imperative (אַל), and is followed by the future tense.

The verb to write

in singular, masculine

Future Indicative

Imperative / Prohibitive

Affirmative

tikhtov – תכתוב
(You will write)

ktov – כתוב
اكْتـُبْ- uktub

(Write!)

Negative

lo tikhtov – לא תכתוב
(You will not write)

al tikhtov – אל תכתוב
(Don't write!)

(In Hebrew, some of the Bs sounds like V, and some like B)

The verb to write

in singular, feminine

Future Indicative

Imperative / Prohibitive

Affirmative

tikhtevi – תכתבי
(You will write)

kitvi – כתבי
اكْتـُبْي- uktubi

(Write!)

Negative

lo tikhtevi – לא תכתבי
(You will not write)

al tikhtevi – אל תכתבי
لَا تَكْتُبِي- lā taktubī
(Don't write!)

The verb to dictate

in singular, masculine

Future Indicative

Imperative / Prohibitive

Affirmative

takhtiv – תכתיב
(You will dictate)

hakhtev – הכתב

(Dictate!)

Negative

lo takhtiv – לא תכתיב
(You will not dictate)

al takhtiv – אל תכתיב
(Don't dictate!)

Japanese[edit]

Japanese uses separate verb forms as shown below. For the verb kaku (write):

Indicative

Imperative
/ Prohibitive

Affirmative | 書く kaku | 書け kake
Negative | 書かない kakanai | 書くな kakuna

See also the suffixes 〜なさい (–nasai) and 〜下さい/ください (–kudasai).

Korean[edit]

Korean has six levels of honorific, all of which have their own imperative endings. Auxiliary verbs 않다 anta and 말다 malda are used for negative indicative and prohibitive, respectively. For the verb gada ("go"'):

Level | Indicative Affirmative | Imperative | Indicative Negative | Prohibitive
(formal) Hasipsio-style | 가십니다 gasimnida | 가십시오 gasipsio | 가지 않으십니다 gaji aneusimnida | 가지 마십시오 gaji masipsio[vn 1]
Haeyo-style | 가세요 gaseyo | 가세요 gaseyo | 가지 않으세요 gaji aneuseyo | 가지 마세요 gaji maseyo[vn 1]
Hao-style | 가시오 gasio | 가시오 gasio | 가지 않으시오 gaji aneusio | 가지 마시오 gaji masio[vn 1]
Hage-style | 가네 gane | 가게 gage | 가지 않네 gaji anne | 가지 말게 gaji malge
Hae-style | 가 ga | 가 ga | 가지 않아 gaji ana | 가지 마 gaji ma[vn 2]
(informal) Haera-style | 간다 ganda | 가라 gara | 가지 않는다 gaji anneunda | 가지 마라 gaji mara[vn 2]

^ a b c Verb and adjective stems that end in ㄹ l, including mal-, eliminate the last l before suffixes starting with l (not r), n, o, p, and s.

^ a b An imperative suffix -a(ra) contracts mal- to ma- exceptionally. The other verbs are not contracted by -a(ra).

Mandarin[edit]

Standard Chinese uses different words of negation for the indicative and the prohibitive moods. For the verb 做 zuò (do):

Indicative

Imperative
/ Prohibitive

Affirmative | 做 zuò | 做 zuò
Negative | 不做 búzuò | 别做 biézuò

Turkish[edit]

For the most common imperative form, the second person singular, Turkish uses the bare verb stem without the infinitive ending -mek/-mak. Other imperative forms use various suffixes. In the second person plural there are two forms: the formal imperative with the suffix -in/-ın/-un/-ün, and the public imperative used for notices and advice, which uses the suffix -iniz/-ınız/-unuz/-ünüz. All Turkish imperative suffixes change depending on the verb stem according to the rules of vowel harmony. For the verb içmek ("to drink", also "to smoke" a cigarette or similar):

The verb içmek ("to drink") | 1st person singular | 1st person plural | 2nd person singular/informal | 2nd person plural/formal | 2nd person plural/public advice | 3rd person singular | 3rd person plural
Imperative form | içeyim ("let me drink") | içelim ("let us drink") | iç ("Drink!") | için ("Drink!") | içiniz ("Drink!", e.g. Soğuk içiniz "Drink cold" on soft drinks) | içsin ("let him/her drink") | içsinler ("let them drink")

Negative imperative forms are made in the same way, but using a negated verb as the base. For example, the second person singular imperative of içmemek ("not to drink") is içme ("Don't drink!"). Other Turkic languages construct imperative forms similarly to Turkish.

Footnotes[edit]

^ Wierzbicka, Anna, "Cross-Cultural Pragmatics", Mouton de Gruyter, 1991. ISBN 3-11-012538-2

^ Brown, P., and S. Levinson. "Universals in language use", in E. N. Goody (ed.), Questions and Politeness (Cambridge and London, 1978, Cambridge University Press: 56-310)

^ A.M. Duinhoven, 'Had gebeld! De irreële imperatief', in: Tijdschrift voor Nederlandse Taal- en Letterkunde. Jaargang 111(1995)

^ "Deferred imperatives across Indo-Aryan" (PDF).

^ "Third Person Imperatives in Hindi".

^ Bhatt, Rajesh; Sharma, Ghanshyam (2018). Trends in Hindi Linguistics. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter Mouton. p. 315. ISBN 978-3-11-060698-0.

References[edit]

Austin, J. L. How to do things with words, Oxford, Clarendon Press 1962.

Schmecken, H. Orbis Romanus, Paderborn, Schöningh 1975, ISBN 3-506-10330-X.

v

t

e

Linguistic modalities and grammatical moods

Realis
(what is)

Indicative/declarative

Aggressive

Energetic

Evidential (Sensory)

Generic/gnomic

Mirative

Irrealis

Deontic
(what should be)

Benedictive

Commissive (promises, threats)

Directive (commands, requests, requirements)

Debitive

Deliberative

Dynamic

Hortative (+ subtypes)

Imperative

Injunctive

Jussive

Necessitative

Permissive

Precative

Prohibitive

Propositive

Volitive (hopes, wishes, fears)

Desiderative

Imprecative

Optative

Epistemic
(what may be)

(inferences, possibilities, questions, etc.)

Alethic

Assumptive

Deductive

Dubitative

Hypothetical

Inferential/renarrative/oblique

Interrogative

Potential

Speculative

Subjunctive

Dependent circumstances
(what would be)

Conditional

Eventive

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