IMPERATIVES

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https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/present-simple-and-present-continuous
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Imperative Verbs: Definition and Examples

Give me that book!

Clean your room!

Do your homework.

Take the dog for a walk, please.

Don’t touch that!

Do come to visit us whenever you’re in town.

Push!

https://www.grammarly.com/blog/imperative-verbs/
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What are 'imperatives'?

Compare these two sentences:
1) 'Could you close the door?'
2) 'Close the door.'

You probably think that the first sentence is more polite than the second – and you are right.

1) is a request. We are asking someone to do something.
2) is an instruction. We are telling some what to do.

Sentence two uses an imperative to tell someone what to do.

Note: we can make 'Close the door' into a request by adding 'Please' first: 'Please, close the door.'

An imperative is base verb (present simple verb). Above, 'close' is the verb.

Imperatives are direct. Often they are used when we are angry.

Perhaps your old school teacher told you to:
'Sit down! Be quiet! Stop talking!'

Imperatives are also used in a less scary way. They are used when giving instructions.

When you buy, for example, a new DVD player it comes with an instruction book telling you how to use it. This instruction book is written using imperatives. They are simple to use and easy to explain.

Remember we can't use continuous verbs; only base verbs:
'Stand up, please' and NOT 'Standing up, please.'

negative imperatives

The negative form is do + not + base verb

For example:

'Do not smoke in your room.'
'Don't touch me!'

If there are a number of steps in your instructions you can use the following sequence markers:

First
Then
Next 
After that
Finally

Let's use some imperatives with sequence markers to show someone how to make a cup of coffee.

First, boil some water.
Then, put coffee into a cup.
Next, pour the hot water into the cup.
After that, add a little milk.
Finally, stir the coffee.

Now let's look at how to do ten-pin bowlling in 5 steps:

First, put on the special shoes.
Then, choose the correct size ball.
Next, swing the ball behing you.
After that, roll the ball down the centre of the alley.
Finally, try and knock down all the pins.

Here's how to learn English:

Relax!
Work hard!
Review!
Use this website!
Enjoy it!

Below you will see how to play golf. Which verb should be used in each sentence?

Can you give us any other examples of how to do something using imperatives? Write your instructions in the comments box!

How to use understatement

• GOLF: ___ the correct size club.
  
  Choose
  Hit
  Put
  Swing
  Try

https://www.ecenglish.com/learnenglish/lessons/what-are-imperatives
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Imperative clauses (Be quiet!)

from English Grammar Today

We use imperative clauses when we want to tell someone to do something (most commonly for advice, suggestions, requests, commands, orders or instructions).

We can use them to tell people to do or not to do things. They usually don’t have a subject – they are addressed to the listener or listeners, who the speaker understands to be the subject. We use the base form of the verb:

Have fun.

Enjoy your meal.

Stop talking and open your books.

Don’t be late.

Warning:

We use the imperative carefully. It is a very direct form and we don’t generally use it to make requests or commands or to give instructions.

We can use just, please or if you wouldn’t mind to make an imperative sound less direct:

Open the window a little more, please, if you wouldn’t mind.

Not: Open the window. (too direct)

[Two friends]

A:

Ann, are you ready?

B:

Just give me a minute, please.

See also:

• Commands and instructions
• Requests

 

Imperatives with subject pronouns

For emphasis, we can use you in an imperative clause:

[a student and a teacher]

A:

Can I leave the room?

B:

No. You stay here.

In negative imperatives of this type, you comes after don’t:

Maria, don’t you try to pay for this. I invited you for lunch and I insist on paying.

Warning:

Be careful when using subject pronouns in imperative clauses, as they can sound very direct.

We can also use words like someone, somebody, no one, nobody, everyone, everybody, especially in speaking:

Somebody call a doctor. Quick!

Everybody sit down, please.

 

Imperatives with do

Warning:

When we use the emphatic do auxiliary, it makes an imperative sound more polite and more formal:

[at the beginning of a meal]

Do start. (formal)

Do sit down and make yourself comfortable.

We can use emphatic do in short answers without a main verb:

A:

Can I use your phone to call a taxi?

B:

Do, of course, by all means. It’s there on the desk.

 

Imperatives with let (let’s)

We use let to form first person and third person imperatives.

First person

Let me see. What should I do?

Let’s start at nine-thirty tomorrow, please. Okay?

Warning:

In more formal contexts, we use the full form let us:

[at the beginning of a meeting]

Let us begin by welcoming our new members.

We can use emphatic do with let’s in formal contexts:

Do let’s try to be more environmentally friendly.

Very often we use let’s (let us) when we are referring to the first person singular (me):

I can’t find my keys. Let’s see, where did I last have them? (or Let me see, …)

We can use let’s on its own in short responses, meaning ‘yes’, when we respond to a suggestion:

A:

Shall we stop now and have a coffee break?

B:

Let’s.

Third person

Third person imperatives are not common; they are formed with let + him/her/it or a noun phrase:

[B is joking]

A:

How will Patrick know which house is ours?

B:

Let him knock on all the doors until he finds ours!

See also:

• Let, let’s

 

Negative imperatives

To make negative imperatives, we use the auxiliary do + not + the infinitive without to. The full form do not, is rather formal. In speaking, we usually use don’t:

[a public notice]

Do not use the lift in the event of fire.

Don’t tell anyone that I was here.

We can use don’t on its own in short responses:

A:

Shall I show everyone the old photo of you?

B:

No, don’t. It’s terrible!

 

Negative imperatives with subject pronoun

We can use emphatic pronoun you or anyone/anybody after don’t in negative imperatives, especially in informal speaking:

Don’t you worry. Everything will be okay.

It’s a surprise party so don’t anybody mention it to Jim.

 

Negative imperative of let’s

We often use the phrase let’s not:

Let’s not forget to lock the door!

We sometimes use don’t let’s in more formal contexts:

Don’t let’s mention anything about her husband. I think they’ve split up.

 

Question tags commonly used after imperatives

We sometimes use question tags with imperatives. They make the imperative less direct:

Turn on the light, will you?

Ask him, can you?

Won’t you? adds more emphasis to the imperative:

Write to me, won’t you?

The tag after a negative imperative is normally will you:

Don’t tell anyone, will you?

See also:

• Tags

 

Imperatives as offers and invitations

We can use imperatives to make offers and invitations:

Have another piece of melon.

Please stay another night. You know you’ll be most welcome.

Go on! Come to the match with us tonight.

Don’t be afraid to ask if you want anything.

See also:

• Clauses
• Offers
• Invitations

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/infinitives-and-imperatives/imperative-clauses-be-quiet
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