Questions & Answers about Lachen Sie bitte nicht!
Why is the verb Lachen at the very beginning of the sentence?
When giving a command or making a request in German (using the imperative mood), the verb almost always comes first. Because this is a formal request, we use the formal infinitive form of the verb, lachen.
Why do we include the word Sie here? In English we just say "Don't laugh!" without "you".
In English, we drop the "you" in commands. In German, the formal command always keeps the pronoun Sie, and it must come right after the verb. (If we were speaking informally to a friend, we would drop the pronoun and just say Lach nicht!).
Why is nicht at the very end of the sentence?
In simple German commands, the negative word nicht usually goes at the end. The core part of the command (Lachen Sie) must stay together at the front.
Could I put bitte (please) somewhere else in the sentence?
Yes! The word bitte is very flexible. You could put it at the start (Bitte lachen Sie nicht!) or at the end (Lachen Sie nicht, bitte!). Tucking it in the middle like in this example is a very natural way to make the command sound polite.
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