Verbs can take many forms, including the imperative, which gives instructions. Imperatives can be forceful or polite and don’t require a subject. They can also be negative, using “don’t” before the verb. Imperatives are often used for warnings and advice.
A verb is a word that denotes an action, but verbs can be in many forms, which change their meaning. An imperative verb is a form of the verb that gives instructions. An example of an imperative verb is “Stop!” Imperative instructions can be as strong as an order or as courteous as a request.
People use the imperative to instruct someone to do a particular action. An imperative verb need not denote a physical action but can be a verb such as “Think”. Some examples of physical instructions in the imperative include “Give”, “Shut down” and “Go”. With imperatives, no subject is used, so you don’t need to say “you” as it is implied in the context.
The actual word forming the imperative may be a word that has other uses in the language. The word “walk,” when used as an instruction, is an imperative verb. It can also be used as part of the present tense, as in the phrase “I walk” or as part of the infinitive “to walk”.
Another way to refer to imperative verbs is to call them “overbearing verbs.” This is because when someone uses the imperative form of a verb, he is telling someone else to do something. The strength of the imperative depends on how someone says it and also on the other words in the sentence. Words like “please” or phrases like “If you could,” as long as they’re delivered in a soft tone, make the imperative statement less overbearing and more of a direction. People in positions of authority, such as parents or bosses, may issue an imperative instruction in a strong tone, while people of equal status may need to soften the imperative to avoid offense.
Warnings are commonly delivered in the imperative form of the verb and, when written, include an exclamation point to emphasize the statement. A mother of a child who is running down the street may yell “Stop!” When someone is giving advice to another person, she will often give it in an imperative form, albeit in a soft way. “Talk to your manager” or “Ignore him – he’s a troublemaker” are sentences that begin with imperative verbs.
In addition to using a positive and imperative verb, people can also use the negative imperative verb. In English, it consists of placing a negative action word in front of the imperative form of the verb. “Don’t” is commonly used before an imperative verb to instruct another person not to do something. An example is “Don’t eat the cake”, which is the negative version of “Eat the cake”.
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