Imperativ: du / ihr / Sie (commands and requests)

The imperative (Imperativ) is the form you use when you tell someone to do something, ask them politely or give directions. German has four ways of addressing people here: to a friend you say "Komm bitte!" (Come, please!), to a group "Kommt bitte!", in formal address "Kommen Sie bitte!" and for "let's" "Gehen wir!" (Let's go!). The crucial point is separable verbs: the prefix goes to the end of the sentence. "aufstehen" becomes "Steh auf!" (Get up!), and "anrufen" becomes "Ruf mich an!" or, formally, "Rufen Sie mich an!". Only in the du form is the pronoun "du" dropped, so the sentence starts with the verb stem.

The main task here is to build two reflexes: moving the prefix of a separable verb to the end of the sentence and dropping the pronoun in the du form. As you form the du, ihr, Sie and wir commands in the exercise, a short note shows you the moment you slip where the prefix should go or why "du" is dropped. So you do not just correct the mistake, you understand the logic behind it. Commands are the backbone of everyday conversation: you need them all the time when giving directions, when things have to move quickly or when you ask for something politely. It is also a good warm-up for anyone preparing for the Goethe-Zertifikat A2 speaking test; practise in short bursts and gain confidence with real dialogue sentences.