The German imperative mood, or command form, can be very difficult or very easy depending on whom you are addressing. This week, we'll look at some various examples from Yabla German to highlight what you'll need to keep in mind. 

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For a person or group of people that you would address as Sie, the command form is quite easy. You will simply say the root of the verb with -en added (in most cases this will be identical to the infinitive) followed by Sie:

Nehmen Sie bitte Platz, Frau Sonntag.

Please have a seat, Ms. Sonntag.

Caption 35, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung

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Bitte, seien Sie jetzt ganz still.

Please, be completely silent now.

Caption 60, Magie - Die Zaubershow

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For a group of people you would address as ihr, you will simply use the present tense conjugation. The subject ihr, however, is no longer included in the sentence. 

Gebt mir die schönen Sätze. Jacob beginnt.

Give me the [your] nice sentences. Jacob will begin.

Caption 20, Deutschkurs in Blaubeuren - Relativsätze mit Präpositionen

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The most difficult imperative sentences to form are those for people you would refer to as du, because there are several different patterns they can follow depending on the characteristics of the verb. For weak verbs, the form will be the verb's stem, although an "e" is added to the end with certain consonants. For strong verbs, the imperative will take into account any changes to the root that occur. In any case, du does not usually appear in the sentence. 

Atme ganz tief ein

Breathe in very deeply

Caption 43, Christina Stürmer - Wir leben den Moment

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Aber schau mal hier.

But look here.

Caption 23, Bubble Beatz - Supertalente vom Schrottplatz

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„Vergiss es! Das wird nicht passieren.“

"Forget it! It won't happen."

Caption 74, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Hans mein Igel

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Sei ruhig, Findus, ich bin ja noch gar nicht aufgestanden.

Be quiet, Findus, I indeed haven't gotten up yet at all.

Komm, bleib kurz stehen, nimm meine Hand

Come, stand still for a brief moment, take my hand

Caption 5, Michelle - Paris

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Further Learning

For more information on the du imperative, look at this website or this website. If you wish to make flashcards, use the second column of the table on this page, which shows the du imperative for a number of common strong verbs. 

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Pesky Prepositions:

At Easter time in (in) Germany, außer (aside from) the popular Easter egg hunt, there are also old Easter customs. My grandmother always used to tell me that young women would go to a brook am (on the) Eve of Easter Sunday and trickle water über (over) themselves. Durch (By) this practice they hoped to attain and preserve beauty. The catch was that they were not allowed to utter a single word auf (on) their journey. Whether or not it is true remains a mystery. I hope you all had a Happy Easter!

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Now for something completely different. What comes to mind when you hear words like construction waste, scrap iron, sheet metal, etc.? ...Scrapyard!

Swiss musicians Bubble Beatz recycle and collect such items and incorporate them in (into) their so called "Trash Machine." Going unter (by) the name of "most attractive scrap heap von der (of) Switzerland", Bubble Beatz jump herum (around) and deliver a wild, sweat-inducing performance mit (with) elements of house, industrial and drum 'n bass auf (on) said Machine.

So prepositions are on the menu today! Those essential little words that usually introduce prepositional phrases to indicate the relation between things in a sentence.

Take a look at a few examples:

Im Augenblick mit ihrer "Trash Machine" auf Deutschland-Tour.

At the moment with their "Trash Machine" on Germany tour.

Caption 4, Bubble Beatz - Supertalente vom Schrottplatz

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Some prepositions are identical in German and in English. But others just make us want to tear our hair out.

Ich hab' gesucht und gesucht

I've searched and searched

In den hintersten Ecken

In the furthest back corners 

Nach Augen, die mich interessieren

For eyes that interest me

Captions 28-30, Frida Gold - Wovon sollen wir träumen

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Das Tier um die Beine geschlungen und dann Kopf an Kopf posieren.

The animal looped around the legs and then posing head to head.

Caption 22, Summer Cheergirl - Fotoshooting mit Riesenschlangen

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If prepositions seem difficult, don't despair! As you know, practice makes perfect. So test yourself with these fun exercises here and here.

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Learning Tip

Choose a clip according to your level of proficiency. While watching it, click on the words whose meaning you’re unsure of. After watching the clip, access your flashcards by clicking the Flashcard tab. All the words that you clicked have been compiled into sets. Review your flashcard set. Now watch the clip again. Has your listening comprehension improved? Finally, speaking aloud in German, recount what you saw and heard in the clip. Summarize the gist. Try using words you’ve just learned. At first, this will seem difficult. But over time you’ll be amazed at your increased fluency!