Imperative Mood Explained: 8 Examples of the Imperative Mood

The imperative mood is a mood in English grammar that inflects a direct command or a strong request. Commanding statements like "take out the trash" or "give me another slice" are phrased in the imperative mood. In English grammar, the imperative mood is spoken in the second person and directed toward the unnamed subject "you." In most cases, it uses the present tense form of the verb.

In English-language grammar, a mood reflects a speaker's perspective. Grammatical moods are not the same as verb conjugations, although different verb moods call for different types of conjugations. In English, there are three grammatical moods:

• Imperative mood: Use the imperative mood for direct commands and firm requests.
• Subjunctive mood: Use the subjunctive mood to express wishes, describe hypothetical situations, and outline conditional events. The subjunctive mood is grammatically anchored by a subjunctive verb phrase, which typically will feature the words "that" or "if."
• Indicative mood: Use the indicative mood to make statements of fact or ask questions.

Note that sentence moods are not the same as verb conjugations. A sentence crafted in the imperative mood can use an imperative verb like "go" or "wait." However, a mood refers to the entire clause or sentence, not simply how you conjugate a verb from its infinitive form.

The following sentences demonstrate several different forms of the imperative mood.

1. 1. In the second person without personal pronouns: "Go to your room!"
2. 2. With reflexive pronouns: "Give yourself a break."
3. 3. With a direct object: "Hit the ball."
4. 4. Referring to third-person objects of the main verb: "Let them eat cake."
5. 5. As an affirmative imperative (also called positive imperative form): "Go for it!"
6. 6. As a negative imperative (also called a negative command): "Do not touch the cookies!"
7. 7. Expressing wishes: "Let's go Tigers!"
8. 8. In future tense: "You will behave yourself, young lady."

Both the imperative mood and the indicative mood make statements, but the degree of those statements varies. The indicative mood makes statements of fact, for example: "I only walk at night if I’m with a group of people." The imperative mood often takes the form of a command, for example: "Only walk at night if you’re with a group of people.”

In the overwhelming majority of cases, the imperative mood takes the second person form of a verb (both second-person singular and second-person plural) and appears in the present tense. The indicative mood uses all forms and conjugations of infinitive verbs and irregular verbs.

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