Imperatives
[C1] The imperative is a grammatical mood (i.e. not a tense) that is used to give an order, instruction,
or warning, and to provide advice. When used with words such as please, it can also be used to make
a request or give a polite instruction.
Imperatives take the form of the bare infinitive (the verb without to). Imperative sentences generally
do not contain a subject in the main clause – the implied subject is you. These sentences can refer to
the present or future.
Call the help desk if you have any further questions. (advice)
Sit down. (order)
Take a taxi to Waterloo Station. (instruction)
Stay away from the shoreline. (warning)
Please wait here. (polite instruction with ‘please’)
Negative imperatives are formed with do not (or, more informally: don’t) + bare infinitive.
Do not reply to this email.
Don’t talk to me like that. (contraction: avoided in formal writing)
We can use imperatives for specific purposes in formal texts.
• We can use negative imperatives, primarily the full version with do not, for emphasis or in
formal written contexts such as (safety) instructions, signs, reports, letters, or emails.
Especially in letters and emails, we often add please to the beginning of a sentence to be
more polite.
Do not take any food or beverages inside.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
• In formal – often academic – contexts, we can use imperatives to refer to or point to
something within a document. Please can be added to increase politeness.
See the attachment for more information about the policy.
Look at the pie chart in Appendix I of this report.
Please find enclosed my Curriculum Vitae. (‘please’ increases politeness)
We can also use imperative constructions with let. There are several options; which option you
should use depends on your purpose.
• There are no first- and third-person imperatives in English. Instead, we use the
construction let + object pronoun or noun.
[C1] The imperative is a grammatical mood (i.e. not a tense) that is used to give an order, instruction,
or warning, and to provide advice. When used with words such as please, it can also be used to make
a request or give a polite instruction.
Imperatives take the form of the bare infinitive (the verb without to). Imperative sentences generally
do not contain a subject in the main clause – the implied subject is you. These sentences can refer to
the present or future.
Call the help desk if you have any further questions. (advice)
Sit down. (order)
Take a taxi to Waterloo Station. (instruction)
Stay away from the shoreline. (warning)
Please wait here. (polite instruction with ‘please’)
Negative imperatives are formed with do not (or, more informally: don’t) + bare infinitive.
Do not reply to this email.
Don’t talk to me like that. (contraction: avoided in formal writing)
We can use imperatives for specific purposes in formal texts.
• We can use negative imperatives, primarily the full version with do not, for emphasis or in
formal written contexts such as (safety) instructions, signs, reports, letters, or emails.
Especially in letters and emails, we often add please to the beginning of a sentence to be
more polite.
Do not take any food or beverages inside.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.
• In formal – often academic – contexts, we can use imperatives to refer to or point to
something within a document. Please can be added to increase politeness.
See the attachment for more information about the policy.
Look at the pie chart in Appendix I of this report.
Please find enclosed my Curriculum Vitae. (‘please’ increases politeness)
We can also use imperative constructions with let. There are several options; which option you
should use depends on your purpose.
• There are no first- and third-person imperatives in English. Instead, we use the
construction let + object pronoun or noun.
