Mach Mit! 2 E Der Imperativ 1. Sprachbewusstsein Language awareness
(a) We use the imperative when we want to tell someone to do something (most commonly for advice, suggestions, requests, commands, orders or instructions, including directions).
Some examples in English are: Stop talking.
Have fun. Enjoy your meal.
How do you form the imperative of a verb in English? Look at the examples above and think about how you give an instruction. Discuss this in class.
(b) In German, there are three different ways of forming the imperative. Study the following examples. Think about who is being addressed. This will give you a clue which form to use.
1. Geh weg! Ich kann nichts sehen, wenn du vor mir sitzt. 2. Michael und Stefan, schreibt bitte einen Brief. 3. Kommen Sie bitte morgen um 9 Uhr ins Büro, Herr Wagner.
Who is addressed in example 1.? What do you have to do to the ‘du’ form of the verb ‘gehen’ get this form? You have to _________________________________________________.
to
Who is addressed in example 2.? What do you have to do to the verb ‘schreiben’ to get this verb form? You have to ____________________________ and add ________________________.
Who is addressed in example 3.? What do you have to do to the vern ‘kommen’ to get this verb form? You have to _____________________________ and add _______________ after the verb. (c) Complete the grid with the missing Imperative forms. Informal singular
Machen Hören Laufen Trinken
Mach! Lauf! Trinken Sie
For irregular verbs: remember that the ‘du’ form of the verb is irregular. Nehmen – du nimmst - Nimm! Essen – du isst – Iss!
Exceptions: some verbs add an extra -e in the informal singular. Mehr Informationen findest du im Grammatikteil auf Seite 407.
