Imperatives!

Imperatives!

What are they?

Plain and simply, they are commands.

Let's review, a simple sentence in English has a Subject and a Verb. The structure looks like so: S+V

The sentence may also have an Object [but it is not always the case]. The structure of this type of sentence will look like: S+V+O.

In theory, the imperative will have the S+V+O structure. In practice, the imperative will only have a verb and an object - V+O.

Why? It is understood that the subject of the sentence is "YOU".

Examples:

"Close the door!", "Tie your shoes!", or "Get over here!". When giving these commands, the speaker will understand that they are being given instructions/commands. The person giving instructions/commands usually makes a non-verbal gesture (such as pointing) to mean a specific person or it is understood if there are only two people in a room/an area.

In practice, it sounds strange to say "You, tie your shoes!" when there are only two people in the room, but the speaker is not incorrect.

Now, it would make better sense for the speaker is in a situation where there are a number of people in the room/area and the speaker wants to be clear about who he/she's speaking to and the instructions.

Example:

"You, close the door!", "You, take the trash out" and "You, get my bag".

In practice, most people would actually make "requests" so, they don't sound so direct/bossy.

Example:

"Can you, please, close the door?", "Can you take out the trash?, and "Can you get my bag, please?".