The imperative: informal and formal commands

In brief

Use the imperative to ask someone to do something or give a command. German has different forms depending on whom you address: du for one person you know well, ihr for several people you know well, and Sie for someone you address formally. Add bitte to make a request sound polite.

Form

For du, usually use the verb stem without du or -st: kommen → Komm! Some verbs change their vowel: geben → Gib! For ihr, use the present-tense ihr form without ihr: warten → Wartet! For formal Sie, use the infinitive followed by Sie: kommen → Kommen Sie!

Usage

• Choose du, ihr, or Sie according to the person or people you are addressing.
• Put nicht in the command to say what someone should not do.

Examples

• Komm bitte um acht Uhr! — Please come at eight o’clock!
• Wartet bitte hier! — Please wait here!
• Sprechen Sie bitte langsam! — Please speak slowly!
• Komm bitte nicht zu spät! — Please don’t come late!

Common mistake

❌ Kommst bitte!

✅ Komm bitte!

In a du command, omit the present-tense -st: say Komm, not Kommst.

Remember

In a formal command, Sie comes after the verb; in du and ihr commands, the pronoun is usually omitted.