In this article, we’ll explore key verbs and their imperative forms, distinguishing between when you’re addressing one person or multiple people, and depending on whether or not you’re part of the group.
The Coffee Break German Show is a podcast series in which we discuss useful and tricky topics for anyone learning German. In the most recent episode, Mark and Thomas explain how to construct the imperative forms of verbs in order to make suggestions and give commands in German.
We recommend listening to the podcast as you read this article, and make sure to download your free worksheet at the end to put your knowledge to the test.
So, are you ready to learn more about the imperative in German?
Then, keep reading this post!
Using ‘lassen’ in the imperative for suggestions
The verb lassen is commonly used when you’re part of the group. It’s perfect for making inclusive suggestions.
If referring to yourself + one more person, the imperative informal singular form of lassen (lass) is used. If you are making a suggestion for you + two or more people, the imperative informal plural form of lassen (lasst) is used. You will find out how to create these verb forms in just a second.
Here are some examples:
Lass uns anfangen.
Let’s get started.
Lass uns spazieren gehen.
Let’s go for a walk.
Lass uns einen Kaffee trinken gehen.
Let’s go have a coffee.
Lasst uns eine Pause machen.
Let’s (all) take a break.
The imperative forms
When giving commands and you are not part of the group, you’ll use the imperative. The German imperative form can vary based on the formality and number of people you’re addressing. There are three imperative forms:
- informal singular
- informal plural
- formal
Informal singular: ‘du’
For the informal singular imperative in German, you drop the -st ending from the second person singular form – the du form of the verb. Let’s see some examples of verbs in the du form of the present tense, followed by an imperative example, in order to compare.
sagen (“to say”):
du sagst
you say
Sag bitte etwas.
Please say something.
helfen (“to help”):
du hilfst
you help
Hilf mir!
Help me!
Note the vowel change in both of these forms of the verb.
schlafen (“to sleep”):
du schläfst
you sleep
Schlaf gut.
Sleep well.
Note that there is an umlaut in the present tense form of the verb, but not in the imperative form.
warten (“to wait”):
du wartest
you wait
Note that there is an -e- added before the -st, because the stem ends in -d or -t.
Warte auf mich!
Wait for me!
Warte nicht auf mich!
Don’t wait for me!
Informal plural: ‘ihr’
For the informal plural imperative in German, we simply use the ihr form without the pronoun (ihr). Here are some examples:
Stellt die Kisten in die Garage.
Put the boxes in the garage.
To make commands more polite, add bitte (“please”), which can be placed anywhere in the sentence.
Stellt bitte die Kisten in die Garage.
Please put the boxes in the garage.
Formal: ‘Sie’
For formal commands in the imperative in German, use the infinitive form followed by Sie:
Warten Sie bitte einen Moment.
Please wait a moment.
Nehmen Sie bitte Platz.
Please take a seat.
Using the “we” form of the imperative in German
When you are part of the group and addressing one or more people, we have seen that we can use lassen (in the imperative) plus the main verb. However, another option is to use the “we” form of the imperative of the main verb.
For example:
Fangen wir an!
Let’s start!
Gehen wir spazieren.
Let’s go for a walk.
Gehen wir schwimmen.
Let’s go swimming.
Practising German commands
To practise what you’ve learned, try translating these sentences using the German imperative form. You can check your answers at the end of the blog post.
- Let’s go to the beach.
- Answer my question. (plural)
- Please do not touch the picture. (formal)
- Let’s watch a movie.
For more practice like this, look out for the button to download your free worksheet.
If you found this interesting, make sure to listen to the full episode with Thomas and Mark on The Coffee Break German Show. We will regularly be uploading more episodes for German learners, so make sure to subscribe to our podcast feed and our channel on YouTube to find out when the next episode is available.
Plus! To get regular, free German lessons in your inbox, you can sign up for our short (coffee-break-sized) email lessons that will help you improve your German. You will also hear from Mark, the founder of Coffee Break Languages, giving advice for language learners at any level. Sign up below!
Getting to grips with the imperative form will help you make suggestions and give commands effectively in German. Practise using these examples and soon it will become second nature.
Happy Coffee Breaking!
PS. Here are the answers to the translation challenge:
- Lass uns an den Strand fahren. / Fahren wir an den Strand.
- Beantwortet meine Frage.
- Bitte berühren Sie das Bild nicht. / Berühren Sie das Bild bitte nicht.
- Lass uns einen Film anschauen. / Schauen wir einen Film an.
