Imperative Mood - What it is, conjugation and examples in sentences

We explain what the imperative mood is, how the conventional and the negative are conjugated. Also, examples of its use in sentences.

imperative mode — The imperative mood is used to exhort someone to do something.

What is the imperative mood?

In grammar, the imperative mood is one of the verb conjugation models (along with the indicative and the subjunctive) of which Spanish and many other languages have. Allows the sender to address the receiver directly, to give him instructions, exhort him in some way towards something, or express a request, a wish. The imperative mood is very common in everyday language.

Its name comes from the Latin word I will rule, translatable as “have a power” or “command”, also root of other Spanish words such as empire or emperor.

It is considered a defective mode, since it does not cover all verbal persons, but rather it is only conjugated in the second person, plural or singular, formal or informal. When the speaker is included in the group he is addressing, the first plural is used, since nobody gives orders to himself (unless he does it figuratively, metaphorically), but he can do it to a group of which he is a part.

Likewise, the imperatives present significant differences when it comes to ordering a behavior (for example: “Shut up!”) And when it comes to denying it (“Don’t shut up!”), Since in this second case the subjunctive is used . Although they vary depending on whether they are regular or irregular verbs, they are usually located at the beginning of the sentence.

As will be seen below, imperatives may or may not be polite, may or may not be accompanied by exclamation marks to make them emphatic in writing, and may eventually be replaced by the use of the verb in the infinitive, when it is a prohibition or an impersonal command (“no smoking”).

Conventional imperative

In most cases, the imperative is constructed as follows:

Second person singular:

You (informal):
- Regular verbs: take (take), drink (drink), live (live).
- Irregular verbs: count (count), do (do), sleep (sleep).
You (formal).
- Regular verbs: take (take), drink (drink), live (live).
- Irregular verbs: count (count), do (do), sleep (sleep).

Second person plural:

You all (informal, only in Spain):
- Regular verbs: take (take), drink (drink), vivid (live).
- Irregular verbs: count (count), do (do), sleep (sleep).
You (formal).
- Regular verbs: take (drink), drink (drink), live (live).
- Irregular verbs: count (count), do (do), sleep (sleep).

First person plural:

U.S:
- Regular verbs: let’s take (take), let’s drink (drink), let’s live (live).
- Irregular verbs: let’s count (count), let’s do (do), sleep (sleep).

All the cases described can have clitic pronouns added at the end, to form imperative verbs such as “tell me”, “give it to him” or “try it”, as the case may be.

It is also common for these conjugations to adapt to dialect variants, beyond the use or omission of you (typical of the peninsular dialect). For example, in the variants of Spanish in which it is vosea (that is, “vos” is used instead of “tú”), particular forms such as “hablá”, “decí” or “comé” appear.

Negative imperative

The negative imperative appears to deny a behavior, instead of proposing or imposing it, and is easily recognizable because it begins sentences with a negative adverb such as “no”, “nor” or “never”, followed by the verb in the subjunctive mood. So, for example, with the previously used verbs: