Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request.

An example of a verb used in the imperative mood is the English sentence Please be quiet. Such imperatives imply a second-person subject (you), but some other languages also have first- and third-person imperatives, with the meaning of let's (do something) or let him/her/them (do something) (the forms may alternatively be called cohortative and jussive.

Imperative mood can be denoted by the glossing abbreviation. It is one of the irrealis moods.

Formation

Imperative mood is often expressed using special conjugated verb forms. Like other finite verb forms, imperatives often inflect for person and number. Second-person imperatives (used for ordering or requesting performance directly from the person being addressed) are most common, but some languages also have imperative forms for the first and third persons (alternatively called cohortative and jussive respectively).

In English, the imperative is formed using the bare infinitive form of the verb (see verbs for more details). This is usually also the same as the second-person present indicative form, except in the case of the verb to be, where the imperative is be while the indicative is are. (The present subjunctive always has the same form as the imperative, although it is negated differently – the imperative is negated using do not, as in Don't touch me!) The imperative form is understood as being in the second person (the subject pronoun you is usually omitted, although it can be included for emphasis), with no explicit indication of singular or plural.

First and third person imperatives are expressed periphrastically, using a construction with the imperative of the verb let:

• Let us (Let's) have a drink! (equivalent to a first person plural imperative)
• Let him/her/them be happy! (equivalent to a third person imperative; constructions with may are also used)

Usage

Imperatives are used principally for ordering, requesting or advising the listener to do (or not to do) something: Put down the gun!; Pass me the sauce; Don't go too near the tiger. They are also often used for giving instructions as to how to perform a task (Install the file, then restart your computer). They can sometimes be seen on signs giving orders or warnings (Stop; Give way; Do not enter).

The use of the imperative mood may be seen as impolite, inappropriate or even offensive in certain circumstances. In polite speech, orders or requests are often phrased instead as questions or statements, rather than as imperatives:

• Could you come here for a moment? (more polite than Come here!)
• It would be great if you made us a drink. (for Make us a drink!)
• I have to ask you to stop. (for Stop!)

Politeness strategies (for instance, indirect speech acts) can seem more appropriate in order not to threaten a conversational partner in their needs of self-determination and territory: the partner's negative face should not appear threatened. As well as the replacement of imperatives with other sentence types as discussed above, there also often exist methods of phrasing an imperative in a more polite manner, such as the addition of a word like please or a phrase like if you could. Imperatives are also used for speech acts whose function is essentially not to make an order or request, but to give an invitation, give permission, express a wish, make an apology, etc.:

• Come to the party tomorrow! (invitation)
• Eat the apple if you want. (permission)
• Have a nice trip! (wish)
• Pardon me. (apology)
• Visit Estonia and Armenia! (advertisement)

When written, imperative sentences are often, but not always, terminated with an exclamation mark. First person plural imperatives (cohortatives) are used mainly for suggesting an action to be performed together by the speaker and the addressee (and possibly other people): Let's go to Barbados this year; Let us pray. Third person imperatives (jussives) are used to suggest or order that a third party or parties be permitted or made to do something: Let them eat cake; Let him be executed. There is an additional imperative form that is used for general prohibitions, consisting of the word no followed by the gerund form. The best known examples are No Smoking and No Parking. This form does not have a positive form; that is, Parking by itself has no meaning unless used as a noun when it tells that parking is permitted.

English usually omits the subject pronoun in imperative sentences:

• You work hard. (indicative)
• Work hard! (imperative; subject pronoun you omitted)

However, it is possible to include the you in imperative sentences for emphasis.

English imperatives are negated using don't (as in Don't work!) This is a case of do-support as found in indicative clauses; however in the imperative it applies even in the case of the verb be (which does not use do-support in the indicative):

• You are not late. (indicative)
• Don't be late! (imperative)

It is also possible to use do-support in affirmative imperatives, for emphasis or (sometimes) politeness: Do be quiet!; Do help yourself!.

The subject you may be included for emphasis in negated imperatives as well, following don't: Don't you dare do that again!

Imperative Sentence / Clause

An imperative sentence gives anything from a command or order, to a request, direction, or instruction. Imperative sentences are more intentional than exclamatory sentences and do require an audience; as their aim is to get the person(s) being addressed either to do or to not do something. And although this function usually deals with the immediate temporal vicinity, its scope can be extended, i.e. you can order somebody to move out as soon as you find yourself a job. The negative imperative can also be called the prohibitive and the inclusive plural imperative, the hortative. It is debatable whether the imperative is only truly possible in the second person. The vocative case of nouns can be said to indicate the imperative as well since it does not seek information, but rather a reaction from the one being addressed. An imperative can end in either a period or an exclamation point depending on delivery.

• Look at me.
• After separating them from the yolks, beat the whites until they are light and fluffy.

Adverb

An adverb is a word that modifies a verb, adjective, determiner, clause, preposition, or sentence. Adverbs typically express manner, place, time, frequency, degree, level of certainty, etc., answering questions such as how?, in what way?, when?, where?, and to what extent?. This function is called the adverbial function, and may be realized by single words (adverbs) or by multi-word expressions (adverbial phrases and adverbial clauses).

Adverbs are traditionally regarded as one of the parts of speech. However, modern linguists note that the term "adverb" has come to be used as a kind of "catch-all" category, used to classify words with various different types of syntactic behavior, not necessarily having much in common except that they do not fit into any of the other available categories (noun, adjective, preposition, etc.)

Habits and Routines

Quiz and questions containing descriptions of actions or activities that a person regularly performs. It includes the use of present simple and present continuous tenses to describe actions that are done regularly or currently happening, as well as the use of time expressions such as "usually", "always", "sometimes", and "never". This category also includes the use of adverbs of frequency such as "daily", "weekly", and "monthly" to indicate the regularity of an action.

Examples of common phrases used in this category include "I brush my teeth every morning" and "I usually have coffee at 8am." It also includes the use of "used to" and "would" to describe past habits.

A2 | Elementary | Pre-intermediate

CEFR A2 is the second level in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, often called elementary or pre-intermediate. If you're at this stage, you've moved beyond the basics of A1 and can handle simple, real-life communication — but you're still building the foundations you'll need for B1 and beyond.

What can an A2 learner do?

At A2, you can:

• Understand everyday expressions related to familiar topics — personal details, family, shopping, work, and your local area.
• Communicate in routine situations that involve a simple, direct exchange of information (e.g. ordering food, asking for directions, making small talk).
• Describe your background and immediate environment in simple terms — where you live, what you do, what you need.
• Read and understand short, simple texts like signs, menus, timetables, and brief personal messages.

Key grammar at A2

At this level, you're expected to be comfortable with several core grammar areas:

• Past simple and past continuous — talking about completed actions and actions in progress in the past.
• Present perfect — connecting past events to the present (I've visited London twice).
• Basic modal verbs — expressing ability, permission, necessity, and possibility (can, must, should, have to).
• Common question forms — both simple and slightly more complex (How long have you lived here?).
• Articles and determiners — using a/an/the correctly, along with words like some, any, few, little.
• Basic conditionals — first conditional and simple uses of if and wish.

You're also expanding your vocabulary through collocations (natural word pairings like make a decision or take a break) and learning to use gerunds and infinitives with common verbs.

How A2 differs from A1 and B1

Compared to A1, A2 learners can do more than just produce isolated phrases — you can link simple sentences and participate in short conversations. Compared to B1, you're still relying on familiar contexts and predictable language; handling unexpected topics or expressing opinions in detail comes at the next level.

Self-check: If you can describe your daily routine, talk about past experiences, and handle a basic conversation at a shop or restaurant — but struggle when the topic gets abstract or unfamiliar — you're likely at A2.

Practice at this level

Try these challenges to test and strengthen your A2 skills: Is your English level A2/Pre-intermediate? Test your English CEFR Level!, Basics. Present Perfect., and Basics. Common More Complex Questions..

Difficulty: Easy

Easy difficulty. Difficulty levels represent author's opinion about how hard a question or challenge is.