The Imperative Mood
When you want to tell someone what to do—whether giving advice, instructions, or a direct command—use the imperative mood.
In Dutch, forming the imperative is simple: use the bare stem of the verb (the ik form) and place it at the beginning of the sentence. Unlike regular statements, drop the subject pronoun completely.
| Open that window immediately, please. | Open dat raam meteen, alstublieft. |
| Close that door carefully. | Sluit die deur voorzichtig. |
Finding the Stem
The verb stem is typically the infinitive minus -en. When making a command, apply the usual spelling rules (like keeping vowels long in closed syllables, or changing z to s and v to f).
For example, lezen (to read) becomes lees, and geven (to give) becomes geef.
| Do not give our dog bread. | Geef onze hond geen brood. |
| Read further in that book. | Lees verder in dat boek. |
Giving Multiple Instructions
To string multiple commands together in one sentence, connect them with en (and). Start each new part of the sentence with its own imperative verb.
| Close the door and wait here. | Sluit de deur en wacht hier. |
| Order the coffee and give the waiter the money. | Bestel de koffie en geef de ober het geld. |
| Ask why and tell the story. | Vraag waarom en vertel het verhaal. |
Your questions are stored by us to improve Elon.io
