The Dutch Imperative: Commands, Instructions and Staying Polite | A2 Dutch, Lesson 12

Welcome to lesson twelve of the A2 Dutch Grammar Course. In this lesson you will learn about de imperatief — the imperative. You use the imperative when you give a command, an instruction, a request, or advice. Think of recipe instructions, traffic signs, or everyday requests between friends and colleagues. In Dutch the imperative is straightforward: it uses the verb stem, has no subject, and always appears in position one. You will also learn how to make commands more polite — and how to use the imperative with separable verbs and the verb zijn.

Hoe maak je de imperatief?

To form the imperative, you use the verb stem — the same as the ik-form. Remove -en from the infinitive and apply the normal stem-spelling rules. Werken becomes werk. Luisteren becomes luister. Schrijven becomes schrijf — because the v in the infinitive becomes an f at the end of a syllable. Lezen becomes lees — the long ee is written with double e when the syllable closes. Two rules apply to every imperative sentence. First, there is no subject — you do not say jij or jullie. The verb alone carries the instruction. Second, in the basic imperative, the verb normally comes first. Wacht even. — Wait a moment. Lees de tekst. — Read the text. Schrijf je naam. — Write your name. Compare this with a regular sentence: Je moet de deur sluiten — and the imperative: Sluit de deur. Short, clear, direct.

Bijzondere gevallen

Three special cases are important to know. The first is separable verbs. The same rule applies as in any sentence: the particle goes to the end. Opstaan — Sta op! Opbellen — Bel me op! Afmaken — Maak het af. You already know this from the separable verbs lesson. The second special case is reflexive verbs. In the informal imperative, you use the reflexive pronoun je — regardless of whether you are speaking to one person or a group. Haast je! — Hurry up! Schaam je niet! — Don't be ashamed! Maak je geen zorgen. — Don't worry. The third case is the verb zijn. Its imperative is irregular: wees. Not ben, not zit — but wees. Wees voorzichtig! — Be careful! Wees niet bang. — Don't be afraid.

De beleefde vorm — met u

When you are speaking formally — to a stranger, a customer, or in a professional setting — you use the polite imperative form. The polite form uses the present-tense u-form and places u directly after the verb. Ga zitten becomes Gaat u zitten. Kom binnen becomes Komt u binnen. Kijk naar het scherm becomes Kijkt u naar het scherm. If the stem already ends in -t, no extra -t is added — Wacht u even, not wachtt u. For zijn, Wees voorzichtig is natural in both informal and formal contexts. You will hear this form from doctors, shop assistants, and presenters. It does not sound rude at all — in fact, it is the standard way to give instructions politely in formal Dutch.

De imperatief vriendelijker maken

The imperative can sound direct — sometimes even rude. Dutch has several ways to soften it. The three main particles are maar, even, and eens. Maar adds a reassuring or permissive tone: Kom maar binnen — come on in, it's fine. Even suggests something takes just a moment: Wacht even — just a moment. Eens invites the other person: Vertel eens — go ahead and tell me. You can also combine them: Doe de deur maar even dicht — please just close the door for a moment. You can add alsjeblieft at the end for the informal form, or alstublieft with the u-form. Ga zitten, alsjeblieft. And the friendliest option of all is to turn the instruction into a question: Wil je de deur dichtdoen? or Kunt u me even helpen?

Wat heb je geleerd?

Let's review. The imperative is formed from the verb stem — the same as the ik-form. There is no subject, and the verb is always in position one. For separable verbs, the particle goes to the end: Sta op!, Bel me op!, Maak het af. For reflexive verbs in the informal imperative, use the reflexive pronoun je: Haast je!, Schaam je niet. The verb zijn has an irregular imperative: wees. The polite form for u uses the present-tense u-form: Gaat u zitten, Komt u binnen. And to soften a command, use maar, even, or eens, add alsjeblieft or alstublieft, or turn it into a question with Wil je...? or Kunt u...?

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