Learning about Imperatives

Learning about Imperatives

Objectives

Comprehend the meaning, the function, and the use of imperative in giving instruction and able to use it in daily contextual way.

Learn about it!

Have you ever read the text in the back of instant noodle package, the one that tells you how to cook the noodle? Do you remember what it says?

Pay attention to the sentence structure. The sentences do not have any subject as it starts with a verb. This is called imperative.
In this lesson, we are going to learn about imperative. However, before you start the lesson, here are few things that you have to do:

• Relax
• Keep reading
• Enjoy the lesson

The three statements above (number 1, 2, and 3) are also considered as imperative.
Then, what is imperative? The term imperative is used to describe the verb that is usually used for giving orders or instructions, for example:

• Leave me alone!
• Clean your bedroom.
• Keep it away from children.

The verb leave, clean, and keep in the above sentences are in imperative form. The verbs are in the simple present form or it is called as base form.

When do we use imperative?

Situation 1
You are in the classroom, the teacher is checking the students’ work while all of the students are talking to each other. The class is really noisy. What will the teacher say? In most cases, here is what the teacher will say:

• Be quiet, please!

Situation 2
You just buy a new gadget, but you do not know how to use it. The new gadget that you buy, it usually comes with an instruction book to help you. The sentences in an instruction guide are usually used imperative to tell people how to use the object. For example:

• Push the power button to turn on/off your mp3.
• Use the ‘play’ button to play the song.

Positive and NegativeImperative

The explanation above is about using positive imperative. Now, if there is the positive form of imperative, is there any negative form of it? The answer is yes. Pay attention to the situation below.
You are in a park or in a garden. Most of the time, you will find grass. Usually, there is a sign that prohibits you stepping on the grass. Can you tell what is usually written on that sign? The statement below is what you will usually find in a place like that.

• Do not step on the grass

Other examples of negative imperative:
- Do not go outside
- Do not smoke in this room
- Do not use

Imperative in polite and casual way

When you want to give order to someone or tell them to do something, imperative can be used as a direct order. For instance:

• Stop writing
• Wait here
• Take a seat

However, giving an order like that is not always a good way to tell someone to do something, especially when you are talking to someone who is older than you or someone that you do not know. Therefore, in order to make the statement more polite, you can add the word ‘please’ in the beginning or the end of the statement. Example:

• Please stop writing
• Please wait here
• Take a seat,

Keypoints

Imperative is usually used in the following situation:

1. When you want to tell someone what to do
2. When you want to give instruction to other people

The Pattern:
* Positive imperative always use base verb (present simple verb).
* Negative imperative always use DO NOT / DON’T+ base verb.