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### 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.

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### 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**:

{{item:864459}}

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The feminine noun *die Flasche* (the bottle) takes **der**:

{{item:864467}}

### After and To: *nach*

The preposition **nach** has two main uses. First, it means **"after"** when talking about time:

{{item:864471}}

Second, it means **"to"** when traveling to a geographic destination that doesn't use an article (like most cities and countries). 

{{item:864474}}

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Subordinate clauses for reasons (weil)

Question	Answer
to listen (to someone/something)	zuhören
You must listen to me, please.	Du musst mir bitte zuhören.
immediately	sofort
You must listen to me immediately!	Du musst mir sofort zuhören!
the window	das Fenster
to look	schauen
You must look out of the window.	Du musst aus dem Fenster schauen.
Who is looking out of the window?	Wer schaut aus dem Fenster?
the glass	das Glas
the cupboard / the closet	der Schrank
to get / to fetch	holen
You must get a glass out of the cupboard.	Du musst ein Glas aus dem Schrank holen.
Who is getting the glass out of the cupboard?	Wer holt das Glas aus dem Schrank?
the bottle	die Flasche
You must drink from the bottle.	Du musst aus der Flasche trinken.
You must get the bottle out of the backpack.	Du musst die Flasche aus dem Rucksack holen.
after (in time)	nach
quiet / quietly	leise
You must be quiet after school.	Du musst nach der Schule leise sein.
You must play quietly after breakfast.	Du musst nach dem Frühstück leise spielen.
careful / carefully	vorsichtig
You must drive carefully to France.	Du musst vorsichtig nach Frankreich fahren.
After work you must drive carefully.	Nach der Arbeit musst du vorsichtig fahren.
You must clean up your room immediately.	Du musst sofort dein Zimmer aufräumen.
You must come to Italy immediately.	Du musst sofort nach Italien kommen.
just, once (softening particle)	mal
Just ask the teacher!	Frag mal den Lehrer!
Tell me, where is the book?	Sag mal, wo ist das Buch?

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