Imperative: verb stem form
Can form and use imperatives
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Kom her og sæt dig ned!
Come here and sit down!
Luk vinduet og sluk lyset, tak!
Close the window and turn off the light, please!
Vær venlig og hjælp mig med tasken.
Be kind and help me with the bag.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Remove -e from infinitive to form imperative: komme→kom, spise→spis. One form for all!
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesDanish imperative is simply the verb stem — very easy to form.
🇬🇧 English: Same concept — base form. 'Come!' = 'Kom!', 'Eat!' = 'Spis!'
🇷🇺 Russian: Russian imperative has its own conjugation. Danish
Keeping the -e ending in imperative
Drop the -e! 'Kom!', not *'Komme!'. 'Spis!', not *'Spise!'.
Adding 'du' to the imperative
Danish imperative doesn't need 'du': 'Kom her!', not *'Kom du her!' (unless emphatic).
Kom her og sæt dig ned!
Come here and sit down!
'Kom' = come (stem of 'at komme'). 'Sæt' = set/put (stem of 'at sætte'). 'Dig' = yourself.
Luk vinduet og sluk lyset, tak!
Close the window and turn off the light, please!
'Luk' = close (stem of 'at lukke'). 'Sluk' = turn off (stem of 'at slukke'). 'Tak' softens the command.
Vær venlig og hjælp mig med tasken.
Be kind and help me with the bag.
'Vær' = be (stem of 'at være', irregular). 'Hjælp' = help (stem of 'at hjælpe').
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises