Imperatives
4 May 2008Imperatives are commands and are one of the four types of sentences in the English language. An imperative sentence can consist of only one word, such as “Look”. This is because in these sentences, it is understood that you are talking to someone and that you actually mean “You look”.
There are five different types of imperatives. One thing each of these have in common is that the subject is implicit.
Directions
Directions differ from instructions in the sense that directions deal with guiding someone through space to a point of interest.
“Turn left at Chestnut Avenue.”
“Go straight until the third stop light.”
“Turn right.”
Commands
These are strong statements that are not merely suggestions, they are orders in which an option to do otherwise seems nonexistent.
“Stop that!”
“Come here now!”
“Give me that!”
“Don’t touch me!”
Instructions
When reading a manual on how to complete a task, such as a recipe or a furniture assembly guide, the imperatives are often in the form of instructions.
To give someone instructions on how to make toast for breakfast, each phrase can be an imperative.
“Open the bread.”
“Put two slices in the toaster.”
“Get a knife out of the drawer.”
“Spread butter on the bread.”
Strong Suggestion
The verb “let” is often used as a persuasive imperative in which the speaker attempts to sway the listener to go along with their wishes.
“Let’s change the subject.”
“Let’s do that tomorrow instead.”
“Let’s call for help.”
Invitations
One way of phrasing an invitation is to do so using an imperative. In these examples, the audience could be singular or plural. In other words, the speaker could intend to say this to “you guys” or simply “you”.
“Call me sometime.”
“Drop by and check out the new place.”
“Take it for a test drive.”
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