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IMPERATIVE MOOD
Giving Commands in German
du, ihr, and Sie — three ways to tell someone what to do.
Why this matters: signs, instructions, recipes, and everyday commands — "Komm her!", "Setz dich!", "Warten Sie bitte!" — all use the imperative mood. Once you know the three forms (du, ihr, Sie), you can give directions, follow a recipe, and understand the signs and announcements around you.
The Three Imperative Forms
| Form | Used for | Example (kommen) |
|---|---|---|
| du-form | one person, informal | Komm! |
| ihr-form | multiple people, informal | Kommt! |
| Sie-form | formal, one or more people | Kommen Sie! |
How to Build Each Form
du-form: take the du-form of the present tense and drop both the "-st" ending and the pronoun. du kommst → Komm! Verbs with an e→i or e→ie vowel change keep that change: du sprichst → Sprich!, du siehst → Sieh! But verbs that only add an umlaut (a→ä) drop the umlaut again in the imperative: du fährst → Fahr! (not Fähr!).
ihr-form: identical to the ihr-form of the present tense — just drop the pronoun. ihr kommt → Kommt!
Sie-form: invert the present tense Sie-form and keep Sie. Sie kommen → Kommen Sie!
| Verb | du | ihr | Sie |
|---|---|---|---|
| kommen | Komm! | Kommt! | Kommen Sie! |
| warten | Warte! | Wartet! | Warten Sie! |
| sprechen | Sprich! | Sprecht! | Sprechen Sie! |
| fahren | Fahr! | Fahrt! | Fahren Sie! |
| sein | Sei! | Seid! | Seien Sie! |
Real Talk: sein is irregular in the imperative, so just memorize it: Sei ruhig! (Be quiet!), Seid pünktlich! (Be on time!), Seien Sie so freundlich… (Be so kind…). And a small habit that goes a long way: adding bitte softens any command — Kommen Sie bitte herein. (Please come in.) sounds far friendlier than the command alone.
📥 Download Your Lesson 20 PDF
Imperative form flashcards, the du/ihr/Sie formation cheat sheet, and 4 practice exercises with an answer key — enter your email and it lands in your inbox instantly.
📖 What's Next:
Next up: A1 Lesson 21 — Adjective Endings. You'll learn how adjective endings change depending on gender, case, and whether there's an article — the final building block of A1 grammar.
Related Posts
→ A1 Lesson 19: Two-Way Prepositions
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