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Imperative (Commands)
Giving instructions and making requests — three forms, one for each "you."
Three command forms
German has three imperative forms, matching the three ways of saying "you" from Pronouns. In all three, the pronoun itself is dropped (except Sie, which stays) and the conjugated verb moves to the very front of the sentence.
| Form | Built from | Example (gehen) |
|---|---|---|
| du | du-form minus -st, drop "du" | Geh! |
| ihr | ihr-form, drop "ihr" | Geht! |
| Sie | infinitive + Sie (verb first) | Gehen Sie! |
The du-form
Take the normal du-conjugation and drop the final -st: du gehst → Geh!, du kommst → Komm!, du machst → Mach! If the verb stem ends in -t or -d, keep an -e for pronounceability: du arbeitest → Arbeite!
Komm bitte her!
Come here, please!
kommen → du kommst → drop -st → Komm! "Bitte" makes any command more polite.
Warte einen Moment!
Wait a moment!
warten → du wartest → the stem ends in -t, so the imperative keeps the -e: Warte!, not "Wart!"
Stem-changing verbs: an e → i or e → ie change in the du-form carries into the imperative — but an a → ä change does not.
Sprich lauter, bitte!
Speak louder, please!
sprechen → du sprichst (e → i) → the change carries over → Sprich!, not "Sprech!"
Sieh mal! Ein Regenbogen!
Look! A rainbow!
sehen → du siehst (e → ie) → carries over → Sieh! "Mal" softens a command — very common in spoken German.
Fahr vorsichtig!
Drive carefully!
fahren → du fährst (a → ä), but the umlaut does not carry into the imperative → Fahr!, not "Fähr!" This is the opposite of the e-stem rule above — a common mix-up.
The ihr-form
Simplest of the three: use the normal ihr-conjugation and just drop the word "ihr." No stem changes to worry about — the ihr-form never has one.
Kommt herein!
Come in (you all)!
kommen → ihr kommt → drop "ihr" → Kommt! Used for a group of friends, children, or classmates.
Seid leise!
Be quiet (you all)!
sein is irregular here too — ihr seid → Seid! (see the sein note below).
The Sie-form
The formal command is the easiest to build: it's just the infinitive with Sie stuck on the end, and the verb still comes first — Sie is not dropped, unlike du/ihr. It looks identical to a yes/no question except for the exclamation mark and tone.
Kommen Sie herein!
Come in (formal)!
kommen = infinitive, unchanged — just add "Sie" after it. Compare to the yes/no question "Kommen Sie herein?" — same word order.
Nehmen Sie bitte Platz.
Please have a seat.
Platz nehmen = to take a seat (fixed phrase). Infinitive "nehmen" + Sie, verb first — the standard formal command pattern.
sein — irregular in all three forms
sein (to be) doesn't follow the normal rules at all — its three imperative forms have to be memorized separately.
| Form | Imperative |
|---|---|
| du | Sei vorsichtig! |
| ihr | Seid vorsichtig! |
| Sie | Seien Sie vorsichtig! |
Separable verbs in the imperative
Just like in a normal present-tense sentence, the prefix of a separable verb jumps to the end. The imperative rules above apply to the base verb as usual.
Mach bitte die Tür zu!
Please close the door!
zumachen = to close. "Mach" (du-imperative of machen) stays in front; "zu" jumps to the end — exactly like "Ich mache die Tür zu" in the present tense.
Stehen Sie bitte auf!
Please stand up (formal)!
aufstehen = to stand/get up. "Stehen Sie" (Sie-imperative) up front, "auf" at the end.
Commands in one line
du: du-form minus -st, no pronoun — Geh! (e→i/ie stem changes carry over; a→ä ones don't.)
ihr: ihr-form, no pronoun — Geht!
Sie: infinitive + Sie, verb first — Gehen Sie!
sein is irregular: Sei! / Seid! / Seien Sie! Separable prefixes still jump to the end.
Related
- Verbs: Conjugation (1) — the present-tense stem changes this page builds on
- Separable Verbs — how prefixes behave across every verb form
- Conversations: Directions — commands in real use