imperative

An imperative sentence is a sentence used to give commands or instructions or make requests, as in Give me that. It usually begins with a verb or a verb phrase.

Imperative sentences often don’t have an apparent subject. Instead the subject is implied, usually the person who the speaker is giving the commands or instructions to. It is possible to include subjects in imperative sentences by addressing the person separately, as in Joe, hand me that wrench.

While imperative sentences often start with verbs, they can also begin with adverbs, as in Carefully move the sofa, or prepositional phrases, as in Without opening your eyes, count to ten.

The first records of the term imperative sentence come from at least 1737. The word imperative means “commanding” or “a command,” and imperative sentences are supposed to deliver commands, as well as polite requests and directions.

You can use certain adverbs or prepositional phrases to make your imperative sentences sound less rude or forceful, such as Please wash the dishes.

Imperative sentences can also be negative, asking or commanding someone to not to do something or warning them against it, as in Don’t walk there.

While many imperative sentences are short because they omit the subject and give urgent commands, they can be pretty long, as in Tiptoe past the angry sleeping bear while whistling the Canadian national anthem backwards and balancing a bowl of strawberry jelly on your head without spilling it. (We don’t recommend this as a way to escape a bear, sleeping or otherwise.)

The shortest grammatically correct sentence in the English language is an imperative sentence: “Go.” This two-letter sentence has an implied subject of “you.”

This list gives some more examples of imperative sentences:

Students learn about imperative sentences early when studying grammar. People use imperative sentences everyday with varying levels of politeness.

Given the number of imperative sentences directed at them, my cats probably believe their names are Hey Don't.

— Joe Garden (@joegarden)

my dad lives in exclusively imperative sentences

— vtuber burner acc (@lofierotica)

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• sentence
• command
• request
• direction
• instruction
• interrogative sentence
• declarative sentence
• exclamatory

Which of the following is an imperative sentence?

A. Do it.
B. John took out the trash.
C. Could you please tell me the time?
D. Jayne left her books at school.

In English grammar, we use mood to categorize verb forms by the attitude the speaker has toward what they are saying. The imperative mood is used when you are asking (or demanding) someone to do something, as with commands, directions, invitations, and warnings. For example, Don’t go into the woods at night.��

Imperative is also used to describe something as being absolutely necessary, as in It is imperative that we make it to the airport by noon, or we will miss our flight.

And imperative is used to mean a command or important obligation, as in Helping my brother is an imperative that cannot be ignored.��

The first records of imperative come from around 1520. It ultimately comes from the Latin verb �������������, meaning “to order” or “to command.”

In most imperative sentences, the subject of the sentence is understood to be “you,” meaning the person that the speaker is talking to, as in (You,) Pass me the salt. The exception to this is when the speaker wants to include themselves in an imperative sentence, as in Let’s go to the beach!

When using imperative sentences, you don’t need to be overly demanding or aggressive to make your point. Beginning a command with please can help your listener be more willing to follow your directions.

Most GPS programs and apps use imperative sentences when giving directions.

Imperative is a common word that describes something as being really important or necessary. The imperative mood is also commonly used.

The equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines is more than a moral imperative: It is key to solve the most pressing public health emergency of our time.

IFRC is launching a new plan to support the immunization of 500 million people.

— IFRC (@ifrc)

One of the last things Erin and I talked about was the imperative to make people understand that when you see people in distress, you do not call the cops. When you see people in distress on social media, do not flag their accounts. These systems only make things worse.

— s. e. smith (@sesmith)

• mood
• indicative
• subjunctive
• command
• order
• request
• directions
• instructions

Which of the following sentences uses the imperative mood?

A. Do we need to work together?
B. I want you to bring me that stack of papers.
C. Take a left at the next intersection.