The Informal Singular Imperative
To give a direct command to someone you know well (like a friend or family member), use the informal singular imperative.
Drop du and the -st ending from the present tense verb:
- du machst (you do) → Mach! (Do!)
- du kommst (you come) → Komm! (Come!)
Giving Instructions with müssen
Another common way to give instructions is with the modal verb müssen (must / to have to). Conjugate müssen for the subject (du musst) and place the main action verb at the very end of the sentence in its infinitive form.
| You must listen to me, please. | Du musst mir bitte zuhören. |
| You must listen to me immediately! | Du musst mir sofort zuhören! |
Always Dative: aus and nach
Unlike "two-way" prepositions, aus and nach are strictly Dative. The noun following them always takes the Dative case.
Here is a quick reminder of the definite articles in the Dative case:
| Gender / Number | Definite Article (Dative) |
|---|---|
| Masculine / Neuter | dem |
| Feminine | der |
| Plural | den (+ add -n to noun) |
Out of: aus
The preposition aus means "out of" or "from."
Notice how the neuter noun das Fenster (the window) and the masculine noun der Schrank (the cupboard) both take dem:
| You must look out of the window. | Du musst aus dem Fenster schauen. |
| You must get a glass out of the cupboard. | Du musst ein Glas aus dem Schrank holen. |
The feminine noun die Flasche (the bottle) takes der:
| You must drink from the bottle. | Du musst aus der Flasche trinken. |
After and To: nach
The preposition nach has two main uses. First, it means "after" when talking about time:
| You must be quiet after school. | Du musst nach der Schule leise sein. |
Second, it means "to" when traveling to a geographic destination that doesn't use an article (like most cities and countries).
| You must drive carefully to France. | Du musst vorsichtig nach Frankreich fahren. |
