Grammar: Imperative

One of the different grammar points that we are going to explain this week is the different forms of the imperative in English sentences. The most common use of this tense is to give an order, it means, to give an instruction to somebody.  The structure of this form is: Infinitive verb+ noun/adjective+ Complement. Ex. LET THE BOOK ON THE TABLE. However, if we want to use the negative forms of this tense we only have to add the auxiliary verb(TO DO)in negative at the beginning of the sentence: Auxiliary verb (To Do)+infinitive verb+noun, adjective+complement. Ex. DON'T LET THE BOOK ON THE TABLE.

The imperative can be used for all subjects (You, He/She/It, We,They), but if we want to in,crude yourself, there is another colloquial form to use. In this case we use LET's before the Main verb. Ex. Let's go to the cinema. The negative form for this structure is: LET's NOT go to the cinema.

We can also use the imperative tone for warnings, it means, to warn someone of danger. Ex. DON'T CROSS! The most colloquial forms for this case are: WATCH OUT! Or LOOK OUT! 

Another use of the imperative is to give a piece of advice to somebody, it means, when you want to suggest something to somebody. Ex. Eat an apple – it's much better for you than a biscuit! You can often read articles in magazines that give advice on a subject. Sometimes, this advices are presented as "Dos and don'ts". For example, when we make a long-distance travel, there are several advices to bear in mind: 

Do try to sleep well the night before

Do drink plenty of water

Don't drink alcohol

Don't wear restrictive clothing 

The use of the auxiliary verb at the beginning of the sentence is to make emphasis on the piece of advice we do.

At last, the imperative tense can be also used in Requests, it means, when we want to ask for something. In this case, we need to use a polite word before the verb. Ex. Please take a seat. In written language it is also used the polite word Kindly. Ex. Kindly return the documents as soon as possible. In an informal way, we use this to make an invitation. Ex. Have a piece of this cake, it is delicious

I hope you enjoy this entry and it helps you to improve your English. (: