Two of German's most distinctive verb types — separable-prefix verbs and reflexive verbs — interact with the imperative in ways that trip up English speakers. The rules are completely regular once you see them: a separable prefix still splits off and goes to the end of the command, and a reflexive pronoun sits right after the verb. The interesting case is when both happen at once, which gives a very specific word order.
Separable verbs: the prefix goes to the end
A separable verb like aufstehen (to get up) splits in any clause where the verb is finite: Ich *stehe früh auf* (I get up early). The imperative is a finite-verb clause, so the prefix separates here too — the conjugated verb goes to first position and the prefix lands at the very end.
| Infinitive | du | ihr | Sie |
|---|---|---|---|
| aufstehen (get up) | Steh auf! | Steht auf! | Stehen Sie auf! |
| anrufen (call) | Ruf an! | Ruft an! | Rufen Sie an! |
| einsteigen (get in/board) | Steig ein! | Steigt ein! | Steigen Sie ein! |
| zumachen (close) | Mach zu! | Macht zu! | Machen Sie zu! |
| weggehen (go away) | Geh weg! | Geht weg! | Gehen Sie weg! |
Steh auf, es ist schon acht Uhr!
Get up, it's already eight o'clock! (informal)
Steigen Sie bitte vorne ein.
Please board at the front. (polite — e.g. bus driver)
Mach bitte das Fenster zu, es zieht.
Please close the window, there's a draught. (informal)
If the command has an object, it slots in between the verb and the separated prefix, just as in any other German clause: the prefix is always the last element.
Ruf mich an, wenn du angekommen bist.
Call me when you've arrived. (informal — object 'mich' before the prefix 'an')
Räum dein Zimmer auf, bevor die Gäste kommen.
Tidy up your room before the guests arrive. (informal — 'dein Zimmer' before 'auf')
Reflexive verbs: the pronoun follows the verb
A reflexive verb such as sich setzen (to sit down) needs its reflexive pronoun. In a command the pronoun comes immediately after the conjugated verb — and crucially, the pronoun is not dropped the way the subject pronoun is. The form of the reflexive pronoun matches the address form: dich for du, euch for ihr, sich for Sie.
| Infinitive | du | ihr | Sie |
|---|---|---|---|
| sich setzen (sit down) | Setz dich! | Setzt euch! | Setzen Sie sich! |
| sich beeilen (hurry) | Beeil dich! | Beeilt euch! | Beeilen Sie sich! |
| sich freuen (be glad) | Freu dich! | Freut euch! | Freuen Sie sich! |
| sich keine Sorgen machen | Mach dir keine Sorgen! | Macht euch keine Sorgen! | Machen Sie sich keine Sorgen! |
Setz dich, du siehst müde aus.
Sit down, you look tired. (informal)
Beeil dich, wir kommen sonst zu spät!
Hurry up, otherwise we'll be late! (informal)
Setzen Sie sich bitte, der Arzt kommt gleich.
Please have a seat, the doctor will be here shortly. (polite)
Macht euch keine Sorgen, alles ist gut gegangen.
Don't worry, everything went fine. (informal, to a group — dative reflexive 'euch')
The reason the reflexive pronoun stays while the subject du drops is that they are doing different jobs. The subject pronoun is redundant in a command — the verb form already tells you who is being addressed — so German omits it. The reflexive pronoun is a real object, part of the verb's meaning; remove it and the sentence is incomplete (setzen without sich means "to put/seat someone," not "to sit down"). You can drop a subject you can predict; you cannot drop an object the verb requires.
Both at once: verb + pronoun + … + prefix
Now the case worth slowing down for. When a verb is both separable and reflexive — like sich anziehen (to get dressed) or sich anschnallen (to fasten one's seatbelt) — the command stacks the rules: the conjugated verb leads, the reflexive pronoun comes next, any further elements follow, and the separated prefix goes last. The order is:
verb + reflexive pronoun + (other elements) + prefix
Zieh dich an, wir gehen gleich los!
Get dressed, we're leaving in a minute! (informal — dich after the verb, an at the end)
Zieh dich warm an, draußen sind es minus fünf Grad.
Dress warmly, it's minus five degrees outside. (informal — verb + dich + warm + an)
Schnallen Sie sich bitte an.
Please fasten your seatbelt. (polite — verb + sich + an)
Zieht euch die Schuhe aus, der Boden ist frisch gewischt.
Take your shoes off, the floor's just been mopped. (informal, group)
Look closely at Zieh dich warm an: the verb zieh is first, the reflexive dich comes straight after it, the adverb warm sits in the middle field, and the prefix an anchors the end. This three-part frame — finite verb at the front, separable prefix at the back, everything else sandwiched between — is the same "verbal bracket" (Satzklammer) that structures every German main clause. The imperative is no exception; it just opens with the verb instead of a subject.
Common Mistakes
❌ Aufsteh!
Incorrect — the separable prefix can't stay attached; it must go to the end.
✅ Steh auf!
Get up! (informal)
❌ Anruf mich!
Incorrect — same problem; the prefix 'an' belongs at the end.
✅ Ruf mich an!
Call me! (informal)
❌ Setz!
Incorrect — the reflexive pronoun is obligatory; without it the verb means 'seat (someone)'.
✅ Setz dich!
Sit down! (informal)
❌ Setzen Sie!
Incorrect — the polite reflexive command needs sich after Sie.
✅ Setzen Sie sich!
Have a seat! (polite)
❌ Zieh an dich warm!
Wrong order — the reflexive pronoun goes right after the verb and the prefix goes last.
✅ Zieh dich warm an!
Dress warmly! (informal)
English speakers stumble in two predictable places. First, because English particle verbs keep the particle close (get up, call back), learners try to keep the German prefix attached (Aufsteh!, Anruf!) instead of sending it to the end. Second, since English drops everything but the verb in a command (Sit down!, not Sit yourself down!), learners drop the reflexive pronoun too (Setz!) — but in German that pronoun is a required object and changes the meaning if removed. Keep the prefix at the end and the reflexive right after the verb, and these verbs become completely routine. For more pitfalls with prefixes, see separable verb errors.
Key Takeaways
- Separable prefixes split off in the imperative and go to the end: Steh auf!, Ruf an!, Steig ein!
- Objects sit between the verb and the prefix: Ruf mich an!
- Reflexive pronouns come right after the verb and are never dropped: Setz dich!, Setzt euch!, Setzen Sie sich!
- The reflexive pronoun agrees with the address form: dich / euch / sich (use dir for the dative reflexives).
- Both together follow verb + reflexive pronoun + … + prefix: Zieh dich warm an!
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Start learning German→Related Topics
- The Imperative: Giving CommandsA2 — How to form German commands for du, ihr, and Sie, with the verb in first position and the right pronoun rules.
- Separable Verbs: How They SplitA2 — How German separable verbs detach their stressed prefix and send it to the end of a main clause.
- Reflexive Verbs: OverviewA2 — What reflexive verbs are, how the reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject, and why German has so many more of them than English.
- Word Order of Object PronounsB1 — When two objects meet: nouns put dative before accusative, but pronouns flip to accusative before dative, and pronouns always precede nouns.
- Separable Verb ErrorsB1 — The four classic separable-verb mistakes — not splitting the prefix, wrong participle, misplaced zu, and wrong auxiliary — all trace back to one idea: the verb wraps around the clause.