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The imperative
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By Bieneke Berendsen

For the imperative, we use the present tense of the 1st person singular. For regular verbs, this is the verb stem.

Ga weg! Go away!
Gooi dat maar weg. Just throw that away.
Neem dat mee. Take that with you.
Kom eens mee. Just come here.

The verb zijn has an irregular imperative. Instead of ben (1st person singular), we use the stem of the verb wezen (an oldfashioned form of zijn):

Wees stil! Be quiet!

If you want to be polite, you can use the present tense of the more formal 2nd person. If you use the polite imperative, you have to add the personal pronoun u:

Vult u dit formulier in. Fill in the form.
Betaalt u aan de kassa. Pay at the counter.
Blijft u maar zitten. Just remain seated.
Weest u maar niet bang. Don't be afraid.

For the English expression "let's ...". we say: laten we ...

Laten we wat gaan drinken. Let's go for a drink.
Laten we gaan. Let's go.

Note that we use we not ons.

When a command is general and no particular person is addressed, we use the infinitive. This is particularly common on public signs.

Niet roken Do not smoke
Niet aanraken Do not touch
Trekken / duwen Pull / push
Niet storen Do not disturb

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Last updated on November 13, 2007 ::