The Dutch imperative

The imperative is used to express a command. Handy if you want to communicate quickly (kijk uit!) or just want someone to do something (ga weg!). To avoid friction, you can always soften the message a little bit. We'll come back to that in a moment. Let's first take a look at how the imperative works.

Formula imperative: ik-form of the verb (the stem) + rest + other verbs at the end (if there are any)

As you can see, there is no subject in the imperative. Let's take a look at some examples.

• Ga zitten.
• Kom binnen.
• Doe het raam dicht.
• Leg je pen neer.
• Sta op!
• Zet je lege kopje in de keuken.
• Kijk uit.
• Schrijf alles op!
• Wees voorzichtig.
• Ga rechtdoor.
• Neem de eerste straat rechts.

As you can see, there are some separable verbs in the examples, for example sta op (opstaan). The separable part of the verb comes at the end (here you can read more about separable verbs).

The word wees may be new to you. It is the imperative of zijn. So the sentence wees voorzichtig translates as be careful!

In a more polite way

You can add various words to your imperative to make the message softer. Dutch people do this all the time with even. Literally, it means for a little while, but it also makes an order sound less heavy.

• Doe het raam even dicht.
• Leg je pen even neer.
• Hou eventjes op.
• Geef de planten even water.
• Doe even boodschappen.

Once you hear even, you'll hear it everywhere, because the Dutch just love it! Another way to make the message less harsh is by adding a simple alsjeblieft.

• Laat me alsjeblieft met rust.
• Maak alsjeblieft je werk af.
• Kom alsjeblieft op tijd.
• Wees voorzichtig, alsjeblieft.
• Hou alsjeblieft je mond.

Frustrating!

To express frustration, you add toch to the imperative. This word has several meanings. With the imperative, it adds some frustration; your intonation shows how negative it is.

• Doe het toch zelf! (do it yourself already!)
• Doe het raam toch dicht.
• Ga toch fietsen! (go away and don't bother me!)
• Neem de telefoon toch op.

Impatience

Impatience is added by using nou eens. You can use this when someone is repeatedly (not) doing something and you would like that to change. This construction can also be used with toch.

• Ga nou eens zitten.
• Kijk nou toch eens uit.
• Zet die televisie nou eens uit.
• Doe de afwas nou eens.
• Schiet nou toch eens op.