He Mperatives: L/O/G/O

L/O/G/O
The Imperatives
What is imperative?
• is a type of sentence telling someone what to do or
not to do.
• An imperative sentence gives requests, demands, or
instructions; or, shares wishes or invitations for others.
• It can end in a full stop or an exclamation mark,
depending on the forcefulness of the command.
• For example:
– Do not enter.
– Please be quiet in the library.
– Let’s eat.
– Come with me.
– Be nice!
Other examples...
Types of Imperatives
relay instructions
As mentioned above, relay requests

imperative sentences ...
relays demands
share invitations
share wishes
1 Give instructions or directions
Imperative sentences that give instructions are very

common, like driving directions or a recipe:
 Preheat the oven.
 Roll out your cookie dough.
 Cut out the cookies with a cookie cutter and put them
on a baking sheet.
 Put them in the oven for about 10 minutes.
 Take the cookies out when they are golden.
 Let them cool, and then eat them with milk.
2 Share a request
Here are the examples of requests:

 Let me know about the progress.
 Please, help me!
 Please don’t give the dog popcorn.
Requests can be softened by changing them into the

form of question. E.g.: ‘Do you mind opening that
window?’ or ‘Would you please open the window?
instead of ‘Open the window!; and ‘May I borrow your
book?’ instead of ‘Lend me your book’.
3 Give commands
The commands can be in positive or

negative form.
 Keep moving!
 Don’t move.
 Eat your popcorn.
 Get out of here!
 Follow me!
 Stop feeding the dog!
4 Share an invitation
Here are some imperative sentences that extend

an invitation to someone (notice that they are not
in the form of questions).
 Come to the fair with me!
 Please join us for dinner.
 Let’s go to the fair together.
5 Share a wish
There are several types of imperative sentences

that each work in different ways. Here are some
imperative sentences that share polite requests
or wishes for someone:
 Have fun at the fair tonight!
 Take care.
 Have a safe trip!
How to Write an Imperative
Sentence
• Writing an imperative sentence is a bit different than other types of
sentences, mainly because of the subject. Imperative sentences generally
begin with a verb, and may seem to be missing a subject. But, that’s
because imperative sentences are naturally directed at someone since
they give direct orders. Since it is implied that the sentence is directed at
a person or group of people, it is usually unnecessary to name the
subject.
• To make it simpler to understand, let’s try adding a person’s name to the
beginning of some imperative sentences:
Sally, please don’t give the dog popcorn.
Drivers, drive slowly.
Sam, eat your popcorn!
Everybody be quiet!
You give me some papers.
• Now, if you take away the underlined subjects from the sentences
above, they still make sense:
Sally, Please don’t give the dog popcorn.
Drivers, Drive slowly.
Sam, Eat your popcorn!
Everybody Be quiet!
You give me some papers.
• In general, the patterns are:
Positive : Verb + Object / Complement
Negative : Do not / Don’t + Verb + Object / Complement

When to use imperatives?
Your purpose
To express your wishes for someone, to invite someone to do something, to give

requests, to give instructions, or to give important demands.
Subject
Remember that the subject of an imperative sentence is understood,

because all imperative sentences are directed at another person or group of
people.
Differences
Remember the distinctions between imperative sentences and other types of

sentences:
 Even if it ends with an exclamation mark, an imperative sentence CANNOT be
an exclamatory sentence, because exclamatory sentences do not share
commands.
 Even if it ends with a period, an imperative sentence CANNOT be a declarative
sentence, because declarative sentences only share statements, not
commands or wishes.
Here are a couple more tips for writing imperative sentences:
a. Decide on tone of voice

Decide which tone of voice is the best match for the purpose of your
sentence. An imperative sentence’s tone can be:
• neutral (like a recipe)
• fairly neutral (like a request)
• used to express strong emotions (like a serious command)
b. Decide on punctuation
The sentence’s tone will decide whether it ends in a period or exclamation
mark.
• Ask yourself: Is your sentence it a demand, a suggestion, a wish?
• A forceful or demanding tone should have an exclamation mark: Stop
feeding the dog!
• A suggestive or polite tone only needs a period: Please don’t give the
dog popcorn.
• Overall, the tone of an imperative sentence, and its punctuation, are up
to you.
Understanding Checking
1. An imperative sentence must always end with an exclamation mark.
a.True b.False
2. An imperative sentence has a _______________ tone.
a.neutral c.forceful
b.emotional d.any of the above are possible
3. You can use an imperative sentence to give someone instructions.
a.True b.False
4. Which of these is an imperative sentence that tells someone how to
make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
a.I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!
b.Spread peanut butter on one side of the bread.
c.Have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with me.
d.Would you like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?
L/O/G/O
Thank You!
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L/O/G/O

As mentioned above, relay requests

1 Give instructions or directions

Imperative sentences that give instructions are very

Here are the examples of requests:

Requests can be softened by changing them into the

The commands can be in positive or

Here are some imperative sentences that extend

There are several types of imperative sentences

Negative : Do not / Don’t + Verb + Object / Complement

To express your wishes for someone, to invite someone to do something, to give

Remember that the subject of an imperative sentence is understood,

Remember the distinctions between imperative sentences and other types of

a. Decide on tone of voice

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