German grammar · Elementary (A2)
The imperative: Geh! Geht! Gehen Sie!
How to tell someone what to do in German: the imperative for du, ihr and Sie, vowel changes, separable verbs and sounding polite.
Three forms
German has an imperative (command form) for each kind of “you”. For , put the verb first and keep : For , use the form without : For , take the form, drop -st and leave out : →
If the stem ends in -t or -d, the form adds -e: , (answer). In careful writing you'll also see an -e on other verbs (), but in speech it's usually left out.
| Infinitive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Vowel changes
Verbs that change e to i or ie in the form keep that change: → , → , → , → Verbs that change a to ä lose the umlaut: → , →
| Infinitive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Separable verbs and sein
With separable verbs, the small first part goes to the end: , , is irregular in all three forms.
| Infinitive | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Sounding friendly
An imperative on its own can sound abrupt. Add , or the small words and , which make it sound like a suggestion. For a polite request to a stranger, a question often sounds better: …?
- Nehmen Sie bitte Platz.Please take a seat.
- Komm doch mit!Why don't you come along?
- Ruf mich mal an!Give me a call sometime.
- Könnten Sie bitte das Fenster aufmachen?Could you open the window, please?