The Imperative Form

Imperatives are verbs used to give orders, commands, warnings, instructions, and requests.

An imperative sentence does not require a subject. The pronoun "you" is implied.

adapted from Sarah Benton's study.com original video

To make the imperative, use the infinitive of the verb without "to".

For example:

Come here!

Sit down!

To make a negative imperative, put "do not" or "don't" before the verb

For example:

Don't go!

Do not walk on the grass.

Here is an example with a pancake recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 large egg
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt
butter for frying

1. Sift flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
2. Whisk egg, milk and vanilla extract.
3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture.
4. Mix until combined.
5. Heat a pan and add some butter.
6. When the pan is hot enough, pour a small amount of batter into the pan.
7. When bubbles appear on the surface and begin to break, turn over and cook the other side for 1-2 minutes.
8. Serve immediately with butter, honey or maple syrup and some berries.

Anglais pré-collégial © 2023 by Rebecca Peters, Cégep Édouard-Montpetit/Entente Canada-Québec is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/