Editing Imperative mood (section)

== 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.<ref>Wierzbicka, Anna, "Cross-Cultural Pragmatics", Mouton de Gruyter, 1991. {{ISBN|3-11-012538-2}}</ref> 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, [[speech act#Indirect speech acts|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.{{clarify |date=June 2024 |reason= 'Negative face' is not a term that people can be expected to understand. Italicising it doesn't help make it understandable, and there is no link to what 'negative face' means. The linked phrase 'indirect speech acts' is a link to an unsourced article section, and I wonder if that was written by the same person who wrote this sentence. The phrase ''should not'' is also a clear recommendation; Wikipedia should provide information, not recommendations and instructions. There is also no clear description of why this is being recommended.}}<ref>Brown, P., and S. Levinson. "Universals in language use", in E. N. Goody (ed.), ''Questions and Politeness'' (Cambridge and London, 1978, Cambridge University Press: 56-310)</ref> 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''; or substituting one ''directive'' for another, as in the change from ''will'' to ''may'' e.g, "you will do that" becomes "you may / can do that".

Imperatives are also used for speech acts whose function is not primarily to make an order or request, but to give an invitation, give permission, express a wish, make an apology, et cetera:   
* Come to the party tomorrow! (invitation)
* Eat the apple if you want. (permission)
* Have a nice trip! (wish)
* Pardon me. (apology)

When written, imperative sentences are often, but not always, terminated with an [[exclamation mark]].

First person plural imperatives ([[cohortative]]s) 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 ([[jussive]]s) 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.

The following sentences demonstrate several different forms of the imperative mood.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.masterclass.com/articles/imperative-mood-explained#what-is-a-mood-in-grammar|title=Imperative Mood Explained: 8 Examples of the Imperative Mood   - 2023 - MasterClass|accessdate=26 December 2023}}</ref>

* In the second person without personal pronouns: "Go to your cubicle!"
* With reflexive pronouns: "Give yourself a break."
* With a direct object: "Hit the ball."
* Referring to third-person objects of the main verb: "Okay. The test is over now. They win. Let them go back to the recovery annex. For their cake."
* As an affirmative imperative (also called positive imperative form): "Go for it!"
* As a negative imperative (also called a negative command): "Don't do that!"
* Expressing wishes: "Let's go team-name!"
* In future tense: "You will behave yourself."