nonimperatif

Nonimperatif is a linguistic term used to describe all verbal forms that are not in the imperative mood. It functions as an umbrella category in grammars that separate command forms from other uses of the verb. The term is common in typological and descriptive grammars, especially in French-language sources where impératif denotes the command form; nonimperatif covers moods such as indicative, subjunctive, conditional, irrealis, optative, and jussive, among others. The exact delimitation varies by language and author, since not all languages distinguish a single non-imperative mood, and some treat non-imperative forms as distinct moods or as aspects of tense, mood, or modality.

In practice, nonimperatif forms encode a wide range of functions: stating facts (indicative), expressing wishes or possibilities (optative or subjunctive), describing hypothetical situations (irrealis), or indicating conditional meaning. Some languages also use non-imperative forms in indirect speech or in agreement with discourse mood.

The term’s etymology is straightforward: it derives from negating the impératif, indicating all forms outside the command mood. In languages with rich mood systems, nonimperatif helps grammarians describe how commands differ from statements and other attitudes. In languages with less morphologically explicit grammars, the nonimperatif category may be less salient or overlap with other classifications.

Examples are language-specific: English has non-imperative moods such as the indicative ("he goes"), the subjunctive in some constructions ("If he were here"), and the conditional ("he would go")—while "Go!" is the imperative form.

See also: mood, imperative, indicative, subjunctive, jussive, optative, irrealis.