Affirmative commands in German allow you to tell someone to do something. The form of the command depends on who you are addressing: du (informal singular), ihr (informal plural), or Sie (formal singular and plural). German verbs usually drop the pronoun in commands, and the verb form changes accordingly.
Forming Affirmative Commands
German has three main forms for affirmative commands, each corresponding to a different subject pronoun:
- du (informal singular)
- ihr (informal plural)
- Sie (formal singular and plural)
Here are the rules for each:
du (Informal Singular)
- Start with the du form of the verb in the present tense.
- Drop the ending -st from the verb.
- Use either the verb stem (e.g., frag from fragst) or the full verb form without du.
- Keep any stem changes or irregularities.
- Do not add a pronoun.
- Example: fragst → Frag!
ihr (Informal Plural)
- Use the ihr form of the verb in the present tense.
- Keep the -t ending.
- Drop the pronoun ihr.
- Example: ihr fragt → Fragt!
Sie (Formal Singular and Plural)
- Use the Sie form of the verb in the present tense.
- Keep the pronoun Sie.
- Place the verb before the pronoun.
- Example: Fragen Sie!
Summary Table
| Pronoun | Verb Form | Ending | Pronoun Used? | Example (fragen) | Example (gehen) |
|---|
| du | Stamm (stem) | –st (gestrichelt) | No | Frag! | Geh! |
| ihr | Stamm + t | -t | No | Fragt! | Geht! |
| Sie | Infinitiv | -en | Yes | Fragen Sie! | Gehen Sie! |
Examples of Affirmative Commands
With Regular Verbs: fragen (to ask)
| Pronoun | Command | English |
|---|
| du | Frag! | Ask! |
| ihr | Fragt! | Ask! (you all) |
| Sie | Fragen Sie! | Ask! (formal) |
With Irregular Verbs: gehen (to go)
| Pronoun | Command | English |
|---|
| du | Geh! | Go! |
| ihr | Geht! | Go! (you all) |
| Sie | Gehen Sie! | Go! (formal) |
With Stem-Changing Verbs: lesen (to read)
| Pronoun | Command | English |
|---|
| du | Lies! | Read! |
| ihr | Lest! | Read! (you all) |
| Sie | Lesen Sie! | Read! (formal) |
With Modal Verbs: müssen (to have to)
| Pronoun | Command | English |
|---|
| du | Musst nicht! | Don’t have to! |
| ihr | Müsst nicht! | Don’t have to! (you all) |
| Sie | Müssen Sie nicht! | Don’t have to! (formal) |
(Note: German command forms with modals usually keep the modal verb; context is important.)
Placing Object Pronouns and Reflexive Pronouns
- Object and reflexive pronouns come immediately after the verb in commands.
- No comma is used before the pronoun.
Examples
| Command Type | Example | English |
|---|
| du + Reflexive | Wasch dich! | Wash yourself! |
| ihr + Direct Object | Küsst uns! | Kiss us! |
| Sie + Indirect Object | Geben Sie mir das Buch! | Give me the book! |
Summary
- Use the du imperative by dropping -st from the du form.
- Use the ihr imperative by dropping ihr from the ihr form.
- Use the Sie imperative by placing the verb before Sie.
- Drop pronouns du and ihr; keep Sie.
- Place pronouns directly after the verb.
- Irregularities and stem changes follow the present tense du and ihr patterns.
- Practice with common verbs to master command formation.
