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### The Annoyed Command

German modal particles add flavor and tone to a sentence. When patience runs out, the particle **gefälligst** turns a simple request into a severe demand.

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While it historically relates to "pleasing" (as in "if you please"), today **gefälligst** expresses severe annoyance. It roughly translates to adding an angry "damn well" to an order, or a sharp, sarcastic "kindly."

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### Using "Gefälligst" in Imperatives

**Gefälligst** usually sits right after the verb and subject pronoun in a command. It is highly effective when paired with the formal **Sie** to express cold, professional rage.

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### Disguising Commands as Statements

You can also use **gefälligst** in regular declarative sentences to state how things are *going to be*. These function as absolute commands, leaving no room for argument.

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You can even pair it with the future tense (**werden** + infinitive) to issue a stern order about what someone *will* do.

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Strong demands (gefälligst)

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...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

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)

Question	Answer
damn well	gefälligst
the reading room	der Lesesaal
Damn well be quiet in the reading room!	Seien Sie gefälligst leise im Lesesaal!
I demand not only silence but also respect!	Ich verlange nicht nur Ruhe, sondern auch Respekt!
to refrain from	unterlassen
You will damn well refrain from that without complaining!	Sie werden es gefälligst unterlassen, ohne sich zu beschweren!
the chewing gum	der Kaugummi
Damn well spit out the chewing gum immediately!	Spucken Sie den Kaugummi gefälligst sofort aus!
the librarian (m)	der Bibliothekar
The librarian hates chewing gum in the reading room.	Der Bibliothekar hasst Kaugummi im Lesesaal.
the reading material	die Lektüre
to rustle	rascheln
Damn well stop rustling with the reading material instead of reading!	Hören Sie gefälligst auf, mit der Lektüre zu rascheln, anstatt zu lesen!
Damn well refrain from rustling so loudly!	Unterlassen Sie es gefälligst, so laut zu rascheln!
the library card	der Leseausweis
Kindly show your library card before you take the reading material.	Zeigen Sie gefälligst Ihren Leseausweis, bevor Sie die Lektüre mitnehmen.
the return (giving back an item)	die Rückgabe
You need your library card for the return.	Sie brauchen Ihren Leseausweis für die Rückgabe.
the late fee	die Mahngebühr
You will not read until you pay the late fee.	Sie werden nicht lesen, bis Sie die Mahngebühr bezahlen.
Damn well pay the late fee for the late return now!	Bezahlen Sie jetzt gefälligst die Mahngebühr für die späte Rückgabe!
I am the librarian and you will damn well be quiet here!	Ich bin der Bibliothekar und Sie sind hier gefälligst leise!