imperativer

Imperativer, commonly referred to as the imperative mood, is a grammatical category used to issue commands, requests, or exhortations. It is typically directed at the addressee and contrasts with statements (indicative) and wishes or hypothetical scenarios (subjunctive or optative). The presence and shape of an imperative vary across languages: some have a distinct imperative form, while others use a periphrastic construction or lack a dedicated mood altogether.

In many languages the imperative is formed from the verb stem with little or no explicit subject. English uses the bare verb form for second-person commands, as in “Close the door.” Negation is usually achieved with don’t or do not. Other languages encode imperatives with distinct endings or separate forms. German distinguishes informal singular “geh!” and informal plural “geht!” from the formal “Gehen Sie!” French uses distinct forms for informal singular tu and formal vous (e.g., “va,” “allez”) and includes participatory forms like “allons.” Spanish has tú imperatives (habla) and usted, vosotros, ustedes forms (hablad, hablen). Italian offers forms such as “parla!” and “parli!” influenced by formality and number; Slavic languages similarly modify endings and, in some cases, gender.

Negative imperatives employ a negation particle before the verb, as in English “Don’t touch that,” French “Ne touche pas,” or Spanish “No toques eso.” Politeness and mitigation are achieved through formal address, modal periphrasis (could you…), or inclusive forms like “let’s go.” The inclusive imperative, found in many languages, uses a first-person plural construction to exhort a group to act together.

Typologically, imperatives are treated as a mood or predicate form whose availability, marking, and degree of formality shape their use in directive discourse, instructions, menus, and user interfaces.