THE IMPERATIVE

‘Imperative’ simply means ‘to give an order’ or ‘to tell someone to do something.’

The imperative in English is very simple: it is the name of the verb. As usual, when I say ‘the name of the verb’ I mean the infinitive without ‘to’.

Thus:

The imperative never changes. It doesn’t change for gender or for singular and plural (but note the ‘we – us’ form below, which is an imperative, but constructed in a different way).

The above examples really are orders: they are followed by an exclamation mark to indicate aggression or a loud voice.

However, imperatives are not always military-style orders. They can have a polite meaning and they often function as a REQUEST.

The imperative acting as a request is very common, for example:

Of course, almost any imperative (order or request) can be made more courteous by saying ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ – before or after it.

Note the difference in courtesy between:

In some cases the addition of polite words doesn’t really help much. The number one imperative in English is probably ‘Shut up!’ which is not improved much by saying ‘Please shut up.’ Similarly with ‘Get lost’, ‘Get out’ and ‘Go away.’

At this point I can mention that you’ll often HEAR the word ‘gimme’ (phon: gimey, with a hard g and i of Liverpool). This is a rude and informal contraction of ‘give me’. It is not polite but it is a common response to the store clerk, restaurant server or barman who asks,

‘What would you like, Sir?’ ‘What will you have, Madam?’

The response:

‘Gimme a soda’,

‘Gimme a hamburger’ or

‘Gimme a sandwich’

is certainly brief and it is clear, but it’s rude. You should avoid using it and so should everyone else.

THE NEGATIVE

We form the negative by putting the contraction of “do not” – don’t – before the imperative.

In these cases we don’t use ‘do not’ without the contraction. You will see ‘do not’, without contraction,  in public warning signs, for example:

DO NOT WALK ON THE SUBWAY RAILS

DO NOT TOUCH THE LIVE ELECTRIC LINE

DO NOT ENTER THE TIGERS’ CAGE

DO NOT PLAY WITH THE CROCODILES

This is done for the same reasons that we have seen in The Passive about public warning posters.

You will also hear ‘do not’, without contraction, in this context in the language of lawyers, judges and experts giving evidence in court. But in general English we use the contraction “don’t”.

WE – US

The form of encouraging, animating or uniting a group of which we are a part is also an imperative. The most common example in English is probably “Let’s go!”

So, in these cases we use the contraction of “let us” – “let’s”. We don’t use any other verb for this purpose. We do NOT use “Let us” without contraction in general English.

“Let us”, without contraction, is common in prayers in church, in political speeches and, again, in the courts. But not in conversation. Examples:

Let’s go, let’s eat, let’s hide, let’s help him, let’s play a game

NEGATIVE OF LET’S

Examples:

Let’s not fight, let’s not argue, let’s not go there, let’s not watch television tonight.

Thus, the negative of “let’s” is “let’s not”, placed before the imperative:

"Let's" is quite common in British English (especially in England) but perhaps not so common in other countries. It is popular all over the world in fixed phrases such as:

Let's go!

Let's face it, ....

Let's be honest, ....

Let's see, ....

Let's look at ......

Let's have lunch.

Let's have another drink.