Meaning of imperative in English

imperative

adjective

/ɪmˈper.ə.tɪv/ us

/ɪmˈper.ə.t̬ɪv/

imperative adjective (URGENT)

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extremely important or urgent:

[ + that ] The president said it was imperative that the release of all hostages be secured.

[ + to infinitive ] It's imperative to act now before the problem gets really serious.

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Very important or urgent

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imperative adjective (GRAMMAR)

language specialized

used for giving an instruction or order:

imperative clause The rule that there must be a subject applies only to declarative and interrogative clauses, and not to imperative clauses.

imperative form In the phrase "Leave him alone!", the verb "leave" is in the imperative form.

imperative mood A command is a statement in the imperative mood expressed by the infinitive form of the verb as a request for action, as in "Come here."

Compare

declarative
exclamative
interrogative

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Linguistics: verb forms, tenses & types of verbs

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Grammar

Clause types

There are four basic types of main clause: declaratives (statements), interrogatives (questions), imperatives (orders/instructions) and exclamatives (used for exclamations). …

Declarative clauses

Declarative clauses most commonly function as statements. The usual word order is subject (s) + verb (v) + x. Declaratives can be affirmative or negative. They make statements about how things are and how they are not. …

Interrogative clauses

Interrogative clauses most commonly function as questions. The usual word order is (wh-word) + auxiliary/modal verb (aux/m) + subject + verb + x: …

Imperative clauses

Imperative clauses most commonly function as commands, instructions or orders. The usual word order is verb + x. We do not usually include the subject in an imperative clause. We use the base form of the verb: …

Exclamative clauses

Exclamative clauses usually have one of the following word orders: …

Commands and instructions

We often use an imperative in commands, and we also use must. They both sound very direct: …

Giving commands

We often use an imperative in commands, and we also use must. They both sound very direct: …

Giving instructions

We use instructions to tell someone how to do something. We usually use imperatives. They do not sound too direct in this context: …

Imperative clauses (Be quiet!)

We use imperative clauses when we want to tell someone to do something (most commonly for advice, suggestions, requests, commands, orders or instructions). …

Imperatives with subject pronouns

For emphasis, we can use you in an imperative clause: …

Imperatives with do

When we use the emphatic do auxiliary, it makes an imperative sound more polite and more formal: …

Imperatives with let (let’s)

We use let to form first person and third person imperatives. …

Negative imperatives

To make negative imperatives, we use the auxiliary do + not + the infinitive without to. The full form do not, is rather formal. In speaking, we usually use don’t: …

Negative imperatives with subject pronoun

We can use emphatic pronoun you or anyone/anybody after don’t in negative imperatives, especially in informal speaking: …

Negative imperative of let’s

We often use the phrase let’s not: …

Question tags commonly used after imperatives

We sometimes use question tags with imperatives. They make the imperative less direct: …

Imperatives as offers and invitations

We can use imperatives to make offers and invitations: …

imperative

noun [ C ]

/ɪmˈper.ə.tɪv/ us

/ɪmˈper.ə.t̬ɪv/

imperative noun [C] (GRAMMAR)

B2 language specialized

a sentence, word, phrase, or form of a verb that is used for giving an instruction or order:

The phrase below is an imperative.

in the imperative In the phrase "Leave him alone!", the verb "leave" is in the imperative.

Vocatives, such as "daddy" in "Daddy, pick me up!", are not considered subjects of imperatives.

Compare

declarative
exclamative
interrogative

More examplesFewer examples

A sentence that is a command, such as "Stand over there", contains an imperative.
The next lesson teaches you how to use the imperative of Spanish verbs correctly.

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Linguistics: verb forms, tenses & types of verbs

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imperative noun [C] (URGENT)

[ C ]

something that is extremely important or urgent:

moral imperative Getting the unemployed back to work, said the mayor, is a moral imperative.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Important and essential things

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Grammar

Clause types

There are four basic types of main clause: declaratives (statements), interrogatives (questions), imperatives (orders/instructions) and exclamatives (used for exclamations). …

Declarative clauses

Interrogative clauses

Interrogative clauses most commonly function as questions. The usual word order is (wh-word) + auxiliary/modal verb (aux/m) + subject + verb + x: …

Imperative clauses

Exclamative clauses

Exclamative clauses usually have one of the following word orders: …

Commands and instructions

We often use an imperative in commands, and we also use must. They both sound very direct: …

Giving commands

We often use an imperative in commands, and we also use must. They both sound very direct: …

Giving instructions

We use instructions to tell someone how to do something. We usually use imperatives. They do not sound too direct in this context: …

Imperative clauses (Be quiet!)

We use imperative clauses when we want to tell someone to do something (most commonly for advice, suggestions, requests, commands, orders or instructions). …

Imperatives with subject pronouns

For emphasis, we can use you in an imperative clause: …

Imperatives with do

When we use the emphatic do auxiliary, it makes an imperative sound more polite and more formal: …

Imperatives with let (let’s)

We use let to form first person and third person imperatives. …

Negative imperatives

To make negative imperatives, we use the auxiliary do + not + the infinitive without to. The full form do not, is rather formal. In speaking, we usually use don’t: …

Negative imperatives with subject pronoun

We can use emphatic pronoun you or anyone/anybody after don’t in negative imperatives, especially in informal speaking: …

Negative imperative of let’s

We often use the phrase let’s not: …

Question tags commonly used after imperatives

We sometimes use question tags with imperatives. They make the imperative less direct: …

Imperatives as offers and invitations

We can use imperatives to make offers and invitations: …

(Definition of imperative from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

imperative | American Dictionary

imperative

adjective

/ɪmˈper·ə·t̬ɪv/

imperative adjective (URGENT)

Add to word list Add to word list

extremely important or urgent:

[ + that clause ] It is imperative that these medical supplies be delivered immediately.

imperative

noun

/ɪmˈper·ə·t̬ɪv/

imperative noun (GRAMMAR)

[ U ] grammar

the mood (= form) of a verb used for giving orders:

In the phrase "Leave him alone," the verb "leave" is in the imperative.

imperative noun (SOMETHING URGENT)

[ C ]

something that needs to be done or given attention immediately:

The government has a moral imperative to provide equal access to high-quality education for all children.

(Definition of imperative from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of imperative

imperative

A balanced combination of declarative and imperative languages is desirable for implementing multi-agent systems.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Similar reasoning ultimately resides behind the technological imperative that is part of contemporary biotechnology.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The law is also useful for the semantics of a typed imperative language with conventional syntax.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is perhaps not surprising, then, that most uses seen so far have been in the imperative.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

They were doing so in a way that attempted to reconcile two very different imperatives.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There is a time when sexuality is a victory-when it is released from moral imperatives.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In this way, the demands of the examination system and the imperative to raise standards of attainment are met.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Strictly speaking, the imperative singular is the same form as the bare stem.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

For such problems, a logical specification of the algorithm is sometimes simpler than an imperative specification.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

He is interested in the material and functional imperatives that allow the self-maintaining economic order to survive.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Conversely, where governments' incentives are at odds with developmental imperatives, policymaking and implementation are vulnerable to economically damaging political opportunism.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We're driven and enjoying it; it's a musical imperative.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

By shedding excess and approaching sung dialogue as if it were speech, singers were to be singing actors - the imperative of a musical dramatic art.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

It is imperative, then, that we seek ways other than direct elicitation to obtain information on perception.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

One generalizes both applicative and imperative type variables when the let-bound expression is non-expansive.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with imperative

imperative

These are words often used in combination with imperative.

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categorical imperative

For example, the categorical imperative does not admit of degrees of moral goodness or badness, as consequentialist theories do.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

commercial imperative

Nicholson's starting point is the commonly accepted meaning of the word 'fusion' - the commercial imperative that led jazz to get into bed with rock at the end of the 1960s.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

economic imperative

There is an overwhelming economic imperative of growth and wealth creation in this migration to cities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with imperative

What is the pronunciation of imperative?