Imperative Form

What are imperatives? Imperatives are another word for commands. Imperatives are used to directly tell someone to do something, sometimes quite strongly. For example, the speaker says to the listener: Eat vegetables to stay healthy. Study English harder if you want to study overseas. Get the car washed this weekend. Finish the report before you leave for the day. We saw similar rules explaining how to survive an earthquake.

What is the sentence structure? The sentence structure of imperatives is relatively easy. Take a look at the following:     verb (plain form) | object / complement Notice that the structure simply drops the subject of the sentence. (not okay) You eat vegetables to stay healthy. (okay) Eat vegetables to stay healthy. (not okay) You study English harder if you want to study overseas. (okay) Study English harder if you want to study overseas.

Negative form Negative imperatives add do + not before the plain form of the verb. Do + not | verb (plain form) | object / complement Do not eat too much candy. Do not drive fast in the snow. Don't forget your cell phone. Don't go to bed late!

How are imperatives used? The imperative mood is used in the following situations: Giving instructions:        Log into the computer network.        Check your dictionaries. Giving orders:        Do your homework!        Eat all of your vegetables! Giving advice or suggestions:        Quit your job if you really hate it.        Study English every day if you want to be fluent. Offering something:        Have some more coffee.        Take my jacket if you're cold.

Watch your tone! Imperatives can often feel quite strong, even when meant as advice. You can add please or should to change the tone of the sentence. You should do your homework if you want to pass the course. Please do your homework if your want to pass the course. Do your homework if you want to pass the course! All three sentences offer advice. The first sentence is the weakest. The second sentence is a little forceful, but the listener may still ignore the speaker. However, the listener should definitely follow the speaker's advice in the third sentence. Weaker Stronger Strongest

Use Imperative Form for Rules

Parallel structure In a list of rules, try to make sure all the sentences are in the same format. It would look strange and be harder to understand if sentences were in different styles. Don’t smoke. You can’t eat food on the subway. It’s not a good idea to feed the hungry students.

Parallel structure It looks much better and is easier to understand now. Don’t smoke. Don’t eat food on the subway. Don’t sleep in class.

Disaster Safety & Imperatives On page 129A you can see rules on how to stay safe in an earthquake. With the rest of your group, choose one of these emergencies and give 2-3 instructions on what to do before, during, and after your emergency to survive it. See if the rest of the group can guess which disaster it is. Don’t mention the name of the emergency! Typhoon Volcanic eruption Flood Tsunami Yellow dust storm Heat wave A test you didn’t study for Drought An attack from North Korea Your own idea