Nuts & Bolts of German (Explanations): Imperative (Business German)

The imperative is used to express commands, instructions, requests, suggestions and warnings.

 

An exclamation mark may be used after a command.

 

Each German verb has different imperative forms:

  • one for formal singular or formal plural (used when addressing someone or several people to whom you would say "Sie")

  • one for informal singular (used when addressing someone to whom you would say "du")

  • one for informal plural (used when addressing two or more people to whom you would say "ihr")

  • one for the first person plural: Let's ....

     

Formation of the different forms:

 

1. formal singular & plural: use the infinitive of the verb + "Sie", e.g.

Investieren Sie mehr Geld! (Invest more money!)

Schicken Sie mir den Bericht sobald wie mӧglich! (Send me the report as soon as possible!)

 

Note: The imperative for the verb "sein" (to be) is irregular:

Seien Sie pünktlich! (Be punctual!)

 

2. informal singular: use the 2nd person singular form in the present tense and drop the -st (or -t) as well as the "du", e.g.

 

machen ->  du  machst: Mach deine Präsentation! (Do your presentation!)

 

gehen ->  du  gehst: Geh ins Bϋro! (Go into the office!)

 

lesen -> du  liest: Lies den Vertrag! (Read the contract!)

 

finden ->  du  findest: Finde den Schlüssel! (Find the key!)

 

arbeiten ->  du  arbeitest: Arbeite nicht so hart! (Don't work so hard!)

 

öffnen -> du  öffnest: Öffne die Tür! (Open the door!)

 

vergessen ->  du  vergisst: Vergiss nicht deine Dokumente! (Don't forget your documents!)

Note I: Verbs with stems that change from "a" to "ä" don't take the Umlaut, e.g.,

 

schlafen -> du schläfst: Schlaf nicht ein! (Don't go to sleep!)

laufen -> du läufst: Lauf nicht so schnel! (Don't run so quickly!)

 

Note II: Some special forms:

entschuldigen ->  Entschuldige bitte mein Aussehen! (Please excuse me appearance!)

haben ->  Hab keine Angst! (Don't be afraid!)

werden -> Werd nicht böse! (Don't get angry!)

sein ->  Sei pünktlich! (Be punctual!)

 

3. informal plural:  use the 2nd person plural form in the present tense and drop the "ihr", e.g.

macht -> ihr macht: Macht eure Projekte! (Do your projects!)

gehen -> ihr geht: Geht ins Bϋro! (Go to bed!)

lesen -> ihr lest: Lest den Vertrag! (Read the contract!)

sein -> ihr seid: Seid pünktlich! (Be punctual!)

 

4. first person plural: use the "wir"- form of the verb in the present tense, but the verb must be followed by the word "wir", e.g.

gehen -> wir gehen: Gehen wir schwimmen! (Let's go swimming!)

bleiben -> wir bleiben: Bleiben wir hier! (Let's stay here!)

Please note:

"bitte" (please) makes a command more polite, e.g.

Gehen Sie bitte! (Please go!)

Bring mir bitte eine Tasse Kaffee! (Please bring me a cup of coffee!)

Arbeitet bitte schneller! (Please work more quickly!)

 

When you form the  imperative of a separable verb the separable prefix moves to the end of the imperative phrase, e.g.

mitnehmen (to take with you) -> Nehmen Sie die Unterlagen mit! (Take the documents with you!)

zumachen (to close) -> Macht das Fenster zu! (Close the window!)

anrufen (to call) -> Ruf mich bitte nicht mehr an! (Please don't call me anymore!)

anfangen (to start) -> Fangen wir an! (Let's start!)