Learn Hardcore German: Sei glücklich und genieße den sonnigen Tag!

It’s the imperative mood, used to give commands or encouragement in German. Here the speaker tells someone directly to “be happy” and to “enjoy the sunny day.”

How do you form the du‑imperative in German, and why is Sei used instead of Seid or Sind?

For most verbs, the du‑imperative is formed by dropping ‑st from the 2nd‑person singular present tense (e.g. du machst → mach!). The verb sein is irregular: du bist becomes sei! in the singular familiar form.

Seid! is the plural familiar (ihr) imperative.
Seien Sie! is the formal polite imperative.

Why does genieße end in ‑e, and is that ‑e mandatory in the du‑imperative?

The basic du‑imperative of genießen is genieß (you drop ‑st from du genießt). The extra ‑e in genieße is optional—often kept in writing for euphony or to avoid awkward consonant clusters. Informally you can also say genieß den sonnigen Tag!

Why is genieße spelled with ß instead of ss?

German spelling uses ß after long vowels or diphthongs. In genieße, the ie is a long vowel, so it’s written ß. A short vowel before would take ss.

Why does Tag take the article den, and why does sonnig end in ‑en?

The verb genießen requires a direct object in the accusative case.

Tag is masculine, so der Tag → den Tag in the accusative.
After a definite article, adjectives take the weak ending ‑en in all genders and cases except nominative singular. Hence den sonnigen Tag.

Can you connect two imperatives without using und, for example with a comma?

Yes. You can simply write Sei glücklich, genieße den sonnigen Tag! German allows you to separate commands with a comma or link them with und—both are correct.

How would this sentence look in the formal Sie‑imperative or the plural ihr‑imperative?

Formal polite (Sie):
Seien Sie glücklich und genießen Sie den sonnigen Tag!
Informal plural (ihr):
Seid glücklich und genießt den sonnigen Tag!