Imperative in English
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Imperative in English
This chapter will discuss the imperative in English. The imperative is used to give orders and instructions or to make a suggestion.
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.Definition and usage of the English imperatives
- 2.How to form the imperative
- 2.1.Affirmative form of the imperative
- 2.1.1.Examples:
- 2.2.Construct the negative form of the imperative
- 2.2.1.Examples:
- 3.Exercises
- 3.1.Exercise to choose in the English imperative
- 3.2.Exercise to fill in the English imperative
Definition and usage of the English imperatives
Imperatives in English can be used to give an instruction or to request something or to make a suggestion.
| Situation | Example |
|---|---|
| To give an instruction |
|
| To give out orders |
|
| To request something |
|
| To make a suggestion. |
|
Keep in mind:
- To use the imperative form to request something, just simply add 'please' first.
- To use the imperative to make a suggestions, add 'let's' or 'let's not' to the beginning of the sentence.
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How to form the imperative
In the English language there are two forms of imperative: affirmative and negative. Take a look at the tabel below to see the difference.
| Form | Example |
|---|---|
| Affirmative |
|
| Negative |
|
The imperative form is usually aimed at 'you', singular or plural. However, the personal pronoun is not mentioned in the sentence.
Affirmative form of the imperative
The affirmative form of the imperative is formed with the infinitive of the verb.
Examples:
- Shut up!
- Listen to me!
- Never drive without a seatbelt!
'Always' and 'never' should be before the infinitive verb. These adverbs are used to emphasize the advice.
Construct the negative form of the imperative
The negative form of the imperative is formed with 'do not + infinitive'.
Examples:
- Do not smoke!
- Do not touch it!
- Do not forget to walk the dog!
Train your skills by doing the exercises below!
Exercises
Exercise to choose in the English imperative
Exercise to fill in the English imperative
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Hands down one of the best teachers I've had the pleasure of working with. Very knowledgeable in all aspects of Bulgarian (grammar rules, expressions, ...) but also in both English and French, which helps whenever you have a more in-depth question on the how or why something is the way it is in Bulgarian. Furthermore he has his own material and always comes prepared, but he is equally open to changing the subject of a lesson to suit your needs. He is patient, positive and not too scholarly, which is what you need as an adult learning day- to- day Bulgarian.I have been working with him for 18 months now and still look forward to our lessons every week.
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Elena is an excellent teacher and a very nice person. I have been training in Spanish with Elena for quite some time now after her being recommended to me by a friend, and have consistently been very pleased with our lessons. While I do not consider myself to be very good at learning foreign languages, Elena is very patient and adapts the lessons to my ability, making me feel at ease. In fact, I find her to be extremely skilled at assessing exactly where I am at any given time with respect to my individual learning situation, and structuring the lessons accordingly. I think I probably would have given up trying to learn Spanish had I not began my study with Elena; and that would have been a shame considering where I am now with the language. Because of Elena's skilled help, I am extremely pleased to not only be conversant in basic Spanish, but also have confidence that I will one day reach full proficiency with the language. No other learning method I tried before meeting Elena compares to the one-on-one, personalized instruction I receive from her, which comprises reading; writing; developmental exercises; and most importantly, conversation. To be able to look at Spanish now and have it appear largely familiar is extremely satisfying. I even plan to study Italian with Elena after reaching my desired level in Spanish. These are not things I ever imagined would occur at the beginning stages of my studies. I am a native English speaker and find Elena's English to be excellent. She had no difficulty instructing me from the very beginning levels where it was necessary that a lot of English be spoken in our lessons, to where we are now with much less English being spoken. The friend who recommended Elena to me learned Dutch from her, and is equally pleased with their experience. I would not hesitate to learn from Elena any of the languages she teaches. I give Elena my highest recommendations and thank her for all the help she has provided me.
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We are an Italian family residing in France for 3 months, we have two 10 year old children who have just started attending CM1. We asked Natalia to give the children two lessons a week to speed up their learning. We are super happy with the choice. Nous sommes une famille italienne résidant en France depuis janvier, nous avons deux enfants de 10 ans qui viennent de commencer la CM1. Nous avons demandé à Natalia de leur donner deux leçons par semaine pour accélérer leur apprentissage. Nous sommes super contents de Natalia. We are an Italian family living in France since 3 months, we have two 10 year old children who have just started attending CM1. We asked Natalia to give the kids two lessons a week to speed up their learning. We are super happy with this choice.
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THEANO G.
Σ' ευχαριστώ πολύ Μέγκαν! I'm glad you had a good experience and that you enjoyed it. Your excitment about learning greek motivates me even more :)
Alba B.
I had my first lesson a couple of days ago and everything went super good! Karin was attentive, transmiting her positivism and helping me with every doubt I had. She really focus on teaching how to pronounce and talk a language, so this is really interesting for me, to practise it & be able to use it in my day by day. I really recommend her to everyone willing to learn a new language :)
Karin L.
Hi Alba! Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I enjoyed our class too & I wish you the best of luck with all your future projects :-)
Silvia B.
Ekaterina writes new words and sentences learnt during the lesson. She has got a very nice attitude and great accent! A pleasure to work with... yes, even in German!!!!!
Ekaterina V.
Dear Silvia, thank you very much for your feedback! It's a real pleasure to have classes with you, and I hope you find them useful!
Martin M.
Deborah has been teaching me Italian for several months. I am very happy and look forward to the new lesson every week. She was immediately able to adapt to my level of knowledge of the Italian language. I can clearly see my progress every week. The lessons can be challenging, which I think is very good. I feel that she is pushing me to the next level. Great ! In addition she always provides me with excellent homework exercises. I really appreciate her patience when I am desperately searching for words during the conversation. In my opinion you can teach yourself a lot, but only with a teacher like Deborah can you achieve an excellent level of active use of language. To achieve this, I will need many more lessons with Deborah. As always we will have a lot of laughter and fun while doing this.
Deborah M.
Thank you very much for your words! You are a very diligent student! You apply and take one step forward with each lesson! See you soon!
David T.
Feby quickly understood what it was essentially necessary to work to improve my Dutch. Very attentive, very kind and without ever judging the level, it allows you to feel comfortable in a language that we are trying to learn. Very good didactic follow-up also after the course. Thanks to Feby I highly recommend
Feby D.
Thank you very much for your positive review, David! You are a very pleasant and motivated person to teach.
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Patricia is very professional and speaks clearly. It made a very good impression on me. I definitely recommend it.
Patricia R.
Thank you very much for your feedback, Ira. Your interest and your willpower to improve your Spanish is admirable. Keep it up!
Mia .
Enthousiast and engaged teacher. Plans a lesson around your needs and focuses on details specific to you. Finds helpful material for the lessons but also for the time between. Easy to talk to and can be reached easily too.
Anco P.
Hi Mia, thank you for this feedback. We will continue in this way until you are ready for your exam!
Dan T.
Federico is an exceptional teacher. He is patient, knowledgable and makes learning much less stressful. In the short time I've been working with him I feel that my Italian has grown so much faster. He has so many resources to share with his students and helps to coach me through the difficult parts of language learning! I highly recommend him to anyone wanted to learn Italian, it is truly a wonderful experience.
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Thank you Dan for the great review! A student like you makes everything easier. I hope to continue like that!
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Thanks so much. It is understood that for any difficulty and / or misunderstanding I am at your disposal.Rina
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