The Dutch imperative: giving orders and instructions

The imperative (Dutch: gebiedende wijs) is a verb form for telling someone directly what to do: Kom binnen! (Come in!), Wacht even! (Wait a moment!). The ik-form is the present-tense form used with ik (I). A polite u-directive is a polite request with u as the subject.

For a modern imperative, use the form that appears with ik, the first-person singular, but leave out ik: ik werk → Werk! For regular verbs, this is the written stem. Use the ik-form you already know rather than simply cutting -en off the spelling.

1. Find the ik-form: ik werk, ik kom, ik wacht.
2. Remove ik: Werk! Kom! Wacht!
3. Add the rest of the instruction: Werk rustig. (Work calmly.) Kom binnen. (Come in.) Wacht op mij. (Wait for me.)

The common verbs hebben, gaan and doen have irregular forms, so memorize the commands heb, ga and doe. They still follow the rule because they match ik heb, ik ga and ik doe. Zijn is the exception: standard Dutch uses wees, not ben. You may hear Ben maar niet bang (Do not be afraid) in informal speech, but Wees maar niet bang (Do not be afraid) is the standard form to learn.

Use the same bare form whether you address one person or several: Kom hier, Sara! (Come here, Sara!) and Kom hier, kinderen! (Come here, children!). Modern Dutch has no productive plural imperative ending.

Older and highly formal Dutch sometimes has stem + t: Komt allen! (Come, everyone!) or Weest voorzichtig! (Be careful!). You may also meet it in fixed expressions such as Bezint eer ge begint (Think before you act). Recognize these forms, but do not add -t to an ordinary modern command to a group.

Politeness does not create a special imperative ending. Dutch uses two sentence patterns, and the role of u determines the verb form.

In Meld u aan, u is the reflexive pronoun that belongs to zich aanmelden; compare Meld uzelf aan. The verb is therefore the bare imperative meld.

In Meldt u zich aan, u is the subject and zich is the reflexive pronoun. The present-tense verb is therefore meldt. This sentence works as a polite request, but its verb is not an imperative form. The same distinction explains Gaat u zitten (Please sit down) and Neemt u plaats (Please take a seat). See the formal u for agreement with u.

A separable verb has two parts. In opstaan (to get up), sta is the verb part and op is the particle. In a command, put the verb part first and the particle later, normally at the end: Sta op! (Get up!). With a reflexive verb, put the reflexive pronoun after the imperative verb.

A negative imperative keeps the same verb form. Put niet after the imperative to negate the action or another definite part of the sentence: Wacht niet op mij. (Do not wait for me.) Raak dat niet aan. (Do not touch that.) Wees niet bang. (Do not be afraid.)

Use geen with an indefinite noun phrase, where the positive sentence would normally have een or no article: Maak geen lawaai. (Do not make any noise.) Neem geen suiker. (Do not take any sugar.) In Raak dat niet aan, the separable particle aan still comes last.

Signs often use an infinitive because no particular person is addressed: Niet roken (No smoking), Niet aanraken (Do not touch), Deur sluiten (Close the door), Doorlopen (Keep moving). These are directive infinitives, not imperative forms. A sign can also use a real imperative, so identify the verb form instead of assuming that every instruction is an imperative.

For English let's, use laten we + infinitive: Laten we beginnen. (Let's start.) Laten we naar huis gaan. (Let's go home.) This proposal includes the speaker. Grammatically, laten is a plural present-tense verb. We is the subject. The other verb remains an infinitive. This is not a second-person imperative.

Laat ons beginnen (Let's begin) is also possible. It is more common in Belgium and sounds formal or fixed in much of the Netherlands, as in Laat ons bidden (Let us pray). Do not mix the two patterns: Laten ons gaan is incorrect here.

A bare command can sound abrupt in personal conversation. Small modal particles change the tone without changing the imperative form. Eens can make a command sound like a friendly request, while maar can sound friendly or reassuring. Even often presents the task as small or easy.

• Kijk eens. (Have a look.)
• Ga maar zitten. (Go ahead and sit down.)
• Wacht even. (Wait a moment.)
• Kom alstublieft binnen. (Please come in.)

Particles are not automatic politeness markers. For example, toch or nou can add impatience in some contexts. A full request such as Wilt u even wachten? (Would you wait a moment?) sounds more openly polite and less direct than the bare command Wacht even. (Wait a moment.)