Grammar
Imperatives: instructions, requests, and warnings
Open the window. Please wait here. Do not step on the grass. Each sentence tells someone what to do or what not to do.
Use positive and negative imperatives to give a clear instruction, make a polite request, or give a warning.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
Please wait near the entrance. /pliːz weɪt nɪə ði ˈentrəns/
The short answer
Use the base verb to make an imperative: Turn left, Read the label, or Please sit down. For a negative imperative, use do not or don't before the base verb: Do not run or Don't forget your key. The subject you is usually omitted because the instruction is for the listener.
Keep your receipt in a safe place.
Why it works: Keep is the base verb. The sentence gives a direct, useful instruction to the listener.
5 more examples
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Bring your passport to the check-in desk.
Bring starts the instruction with the base form of the verb.
Not this:
Do not leaveyour passport on the counter. What changes: Do not changes the instruction into a warning against an action. -
Please close the gate after you.
Please makes this everyday request sound more courteous.
Not this:
Closethe gate after you. What changes: This is still an imperative, but it can sound more direct without please. -
Turn right at the pharmacy.
The imperative gives a direction for the next step.
Not this:
Do not turninto the bus lane. What changes: The negative form tells the driver to avoid that route. -
Write your name at the top of the form.
Write gives a clear instruction for completing the form.
Not this:
Don't writein the shaded box. What changes: Don't is the shorter form of do not in a negative imperative. -
Have a seat while you wait.
This imperative is a friendly invitation.
Not this:
Please waitnear the entrance. What changes: Please can make a simple instruction sound more welcoming.
Read the full guide
Use an imperative when you need to tell someone what to do. The sentence can be short because you is understood: Check the map means You, check the map. The same form can sound helpful, firm, friendly, or urgent. Your tone, the situation, and words such as please change how the listener hears it.
Use an imperative to tell someone what to do
Use an imperative when you give a direct instruction. Begin with the base form of the verb. You usually do not need to say you because the listener understands that the instruction is for them.
Check the address before you send the package.
Check is the base form. The person receiving the instruction is understood as you.
Follow the blue signs to the elevator.
Follow gives a direction to the listener.
Choose the better instruction: 'To check the address' or 'Check the address'?
Use Check the address. An imperative starts with the base verb, without to.
Make a negative imperative with do not or don't
Use do not or don't before the base verb when you want to tell someone not to do something. Do not is common in formal instructions and signs. Don't is common in conversation.
Do not use this door after six o'clock.
Do not tells the reader to avoid using the door at that time.
Don't forget your umbrella.
Don't is a shorter form of do not, followed by forget in the base form.
Complete the warning: '____ stand too close to the edge.'
Use Do not or Don't. Both make a negative imperative before stand.
Add please for a polite request
Please can make many imperatives sound more polite. Put it before the verb or at the end of the request. A friendly voice and the situation also matter.
Please speak a little more slowly.
Please comes before speak and makes the request more polite.
Take a seat, please.
Please at the end has a similar polite effect.
Which request is usually more polite: 'Send the file' or 'Please send the file'?
Please send the file is usually more polite because it adds a polite word to the instruction.
Give directions one step at a time
Imperatives are useful for directions because they tell a person what to do next. Keep each step clear. Add a place or time word when the listener needs that detail.
Walk past the bank and cross at the lights.
Walk and cross give two actions in the order the person should do them.
Take the stairs to the second floor.
To the second floor tells the listener where to go.
Which word begins a direction: 'Turn' or 'Turning'?
Use Turn. The base verb starts this imperative.
Use clear wording for warnings
Warnings often use a negative imperative because a person needs to avoid a danger or problem. Use direct language when the message needs to be understood quickly.
Don't lean over the railing.
The negative imperative warns the listener against an unsafe action.
Keep away from the equipment.
Keep away gives a direct safety instruction.
Which sentence is a warning: 'Keep away from the equipment' or 'You kept away from the equipment'?
Keep away from the equipment is a warning. It begins with the base verb keep.
Choose the right level of directness
An imperative can be useful and friendly, but it can also sound strong. With friends or in an urgent situation, a direct imperative may be suitable. For a softer request, add please or use a question with could.
Could you move your bag, please?
This question is softer than the direct imperative Move your bag.
Please come in and sit down.
Please and a welcoming context make these imperatives sound friendly.
Which form can sound softer with a stranger: 'Could you wait?' or 'Wait'?
Could you wait? can sound softer because it is a question rather than a direct imperative.
Before you go
Remember this
Use an imperative to give an instruction, request, direction, invitation, or warning. Start with the base verb for a positive form. Use do not or don't before the base verb for a negative form. Add please when it fits the situation, and think about how direct you need to sound.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
This lesson does not have the recordings needed for a listening test. Use the written questions in the guide to check your understanding.
Try the written questionsQuestions about "Imperatives: instructions, requests, and warnings"
What is an imperative in English?
An imperative is a verb form used to tell someone what to do, give directions, make a request, offer an invitation, or give a warning. It usually begins with a base verb, and the listener is understood as the subject. Say Bring your passport, not You bring your passport, for a usual direct instruction.
Bring your passport to the check-in desk.
How do I make a negative imperative?
Put do not or don't before the base verb. Do not is common in formal notices and instructions, while don't is common in conversation. For example, Don't write in the shaded box tells a person to avoid writing there. The verb after do not or don't stays in the base form.
Do not leave your passport on the counter.
Where can I put please in an imperative?
Put please before the base verb, as in Please close the gate after you, or at the end, as in Take a seat, please. Both positions can make a request sound more polite. Tone and the relationship between speakers also affect how direct the request feels.
Please close the gate after you.
Do imperatives always sound rude?
No. Imperatives are normal for directions, instructions, invitations, and safety messages. The situation changes the tone. Turn right at the pharmacy is useful when giving directions, while Please speak a little more slowly is a polite request. Add please or use a question with could when you need a softer form.
Close the gate after you.
What verb form follows do not in a warning?
Use the base form after do not or don't. In Do not turn into the bus lane, turn is the base form. Do not stand too close to the edge uses the same pattern. Do not is followed directly by the action that the listener should avoid.
Turn right at the pharmacy.