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German speaking lesson 4

Like any other situation in German, there are two ways of giving commands. Depending on who you are talking to, you would use either formal or informal commands.

Formal commands

To make a polite request or command in German, place the full verb at the beginning of the sentence, then add Sie - the polite form of “you".

Full verb

Formal command

gehen (to go)

gehen Sie! (Go!)

laufen (to run)

laufen Sie! (Run!)

 

To ask somebody not to do something in a polite manner, add nicht after Sie.

gehen Sie! (Go!)

gehen Sie nicht! (Don't go!)

laufen Sie! (Run!)

laufen Sie nicht! (Don't run!)

 

Informal commands

Use informal commands to give orders for your younger relatives or friends.

In the previous lesson, you have learned that every German verb consists of a stem and an ending (either –n or –en).

Full verb

Verb stem + Verb ending

gehen (to go)

= geh + en

sagen (to say)

= sag + en

laufen (to run)

= lauf + en

trinken (to drink)

= trink + en

lächeln (to smile)

= lächel + n

 

We just need the verb stem to form informal commands.

Trink Bier!

Drink beer!

Lauf!

Run!

 

Exceptions

Add an –e to the stem to form a command if the verb stem ends in -t, -d, or -fn.

Full verb

Stem

The command

finden (to find)

find

Finde meine Schuhe! (Find my shoes!)

warten (to wait)

wart

Warte! (Wait!)

öffnen (to open)

öffn

Öffne die Tür! (Open the door!)

 

Moreover, pay attention that there is a vowel change in some verbs. Here are some examples where the “e” in the stem changes to an “i”.

Full verb

Stem

The command

essen (to eat)

ess

Iss! (Eat!)

nehmen (to take)

nehm

Nimm das Auto. (Take the car.)

helfen (to help)

helf

Hilf Mike. (Help Mike.)

geben (to give)

geb

Gib mir Geld! (Give me money!)

 

Practice

Let’s practice by listening to conversations between Mike and his grandma in three different situations below. Pay attention to how formal and informal commands are used. In the recording, you’ll hear these verbs:

aufwachen

to wake up

gehen

to go

finden

to find

öffnen

to open

schauen

to look

kaufen

to buy

 

In the morning

Mike

Guten Morgen! Wachen Sie bitte auf!

Good morning! Wake up please!

Oma

Geh weg!

Go away!

 

In the living room

Mike

Hallo, Oma.

Hi, Grandma.

Oma

Finde mein Buch!

Find my book!

 

In the shop

Oma

Öffne die Tür! Schnell!

Open the door! Quickly!

Mike

Alles klar.

Alright.

Oma

Schau mal! Fleischsalat! Lecker!

Look! Bologna salad! Yum!

Mike

Bitte, kaufen Sie das nicht.

Please, don't buy that.

 

So far, we’ve covered how to make the German commands in both formal and informal language. Hope this helps and don’t forget to follow our website for more interesting German lessons!

Tags: German imperative, giving commands in German, German formal commands, German informal commands, German speaking lesson, learn German speaking, German communication, learn German online

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