English Language Arts

Imperative Sentences

Concept sheet | English Language Arts

Grade

1-4

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How to Recognize Imperative Sentences
Imperative Forms
Using Adverbs in Imperative Sentences
Other Uses of Imperative Sentences
Imperatives with Subject
Imperatives Used with the Passive Voice
Imperatives with “Let’s”
See Also:

How to Recognize Imperative Sentences
Imperative Forms
Using Adverbs in Imperative Sentences
Other Uses of Imperative Sentences

The imperative mood is used to tell somebody to do something.

Imperative sentences can be used to:

give warnings	give advice	give orders
give instructions	place an order	make requests

Examples

Give warnings

A grandmother and her grandchild on tree adventures.

Give advice

Child eating doughnuts with her grandmother.

Give orders

Give instructions

Place an order*

*The word please can be added at the beginning or at the end of an imperative sentence to add politeness.

Make requests*

Grandmother building an Igloo with her granddaughter.

*Imperative sentences can replace interrogative sentences (questions used to make requests).

How to Recognize Imperative Sentences

Tips

To recognize imperative sentences, look for three specific elements:

No Subject

The subject is not mentioned, it is implied.
The implied subject is always you.

Grandmother lecturing her granddaughter.

Verb Form

The verb is always in its base form (infinitive without the “to”).

Punctuation

Imperative sentences:

usually end with a period.
can end with an exclamation mark to express urgency or emotion.

Sentence Types Comparison

Sentence Type	Example
Declarative	Everyday, you wash your hands before dinner.
Interrogative	Could you wash your hands before dinner?
Exclamative	You must wash your hands before dinner!
Imperative	Wash your hands before dinner.

Imperative Forms

Rules

Affirmative Form

Points to remember when forming affirmative imperative sentences:

Use the base form of the verb.
Place the object*.

*The object is not always necessary.

Negative Form

Points to remember when forming negative imperative sentences:

Use the negative form do not or don’t.
Use the base form of the verb.
Place the object*.

Using Adverbs in Imperative Sentences

Important!

To indicate the way an action should be done: add an adverb.

Grandmother cooking with her grandchild.

Grandmother and her daughter messing with flour in the kitchen.

Other Uses of Imperative Sentences

Imperatives with Subject

Although the subject of imperative sentences is an implied second person, subjects can be specified as a way to clarify who is addressed or to get that person’s attention.

Addressed to:	Imperative sentence:
Mom,	look at me when I am talking to you.
Somebody	get the door!
Okay Google,	start a timer.

Using Imperatives to Make Unreal commands

The imperative form is often used to make unreal commands: Sentences that are structured like commands, but that mean to suggest something or express what we wish for someone.

Function	Example	Explanation
Suggestion	If you don’t eat meat, choose the vegan macaroni.	Offering a suggestion, not an obligation.
Wish	Don’t panic! Everything will be fine.	Wishing the person would not panic.
Wish	Feel better!	Wishing the person would feel better.

Imperatives Used with the Passive Voice

Imperative sentences are usually written in the active voice. However, in rare cases, to add formality, it is possible to make passive imperatives.

Passive imperatives with the form: Let + object + be + past participle

Active	Passive
Bring your suitcase to your room.	Let your suitcase be brought to your room.
Celebrate Christmas at my home.	Let the Christmas be celebrated at my home.

Imperatives with “Let’s”

The words let’s can be added to the beginning of an bsentence to form affirmative or negative suggestions which include ourselves:

Let’s is the contraction of let us, which implies that the subject is the 1st person plural we (you and me).

Let’s go to the planetarium.

Let’s not go our own ways. Let’s stick together.

Let’s spend a week in Florida.

Imperatives with “do”

Adding the word do before an imperative sentence adds emphasis, politeness and formality to the command.

Request	Do wait for your turn to speak.
Complaint	Do turn down the volume of your tablet. I can’t sleep.
Apology	Do forgive me for my tone. I know I was wrong.

Imperatives with tag questions

Tag questions can be added to imperative sentences to add politeness or insistence to the request.

Tag questions are either formed with an affirmative statement and a negative tag question or a negative statement and an affirmative tag question.

However, to express a different intention, it is possible to use an affirmative imperative sentence followed by an affirmative tag question.

Example	Structure	Intention
Sit in the waiting room, will you?	affirmative-affirmative	To politely invite the person to sit in the waiting room.
Sit in the waiting room, won’t you?	affirmative-negative	To strongly insist that the person sits in the waiting room.

Imperatives Used in Conditional Sentences

A conditional if-clause can replace an imperative clause.

The if-clause uses a comma ( , ).
The imperative uses the word and.