Giving commands in English is quite simple! We can use this form to
give instructions, orders, commands, or requests. Let's take a look.
Giving a command to someone else
In English, whether you are giving a command to a single person or to a
group of people, the form is the same. We just use the infinitive form
of the verb without "to" and use no subject.
Here is how it works. Below is an example of a regular indicative
sentence with the subject and the verb.
Example in indicative:
Nedgets on the plane.
Now, if we want to tell Ned to get on the plane, we use
the command form with no subject and the verb in infinitive. This means
that the verb will be the first word of the sentence.
Command form:
Get on the plane.
Notice that there is no subject before the verb and we removed the
final s from the verb.
If we want Ned to be sure we are talking to him, we can use his name at
the beginning or end of the sentence, but it will always be separated
by a comma.
This means it is not the subject of the sentence. We are just getting Ned's attention.
For example:
Ned, get on the plane.
Get on the plane, Ned.
If we want to be polite, we can also use the word "please."
For example:
Ned, please get on the plane.
Please get on the plane, Ned.
Here are
some more commands. Notice that the verb is always
in the infinitive form. It does not matter if we are talking to one
person or to a group of people:
Clean your room, boys.
Angela, answer the phone, please.
Help me carry these boxes up the stairs.
Walk down the street for two blocks, then turn right.
Get out of bed, Paul!
Negative commands
When we want to tell someone not to do something, we simply add "do not"
or the shorter form "don't"
before the verb. This shorter form is much more common.
For example:
Don'tsmoke.
It is very bad for your health.
Here
are some more examples. Just like we saw above, these negative commands
will be the same if we are talking to just one person or to a group of
people.
For example:
Don'tforget to call me after work.
Don'ttake the
highway. There is too much traffic.
Do
notpark your
car on the grass, please.
Don'tuse too
many plastic bags. They are bad for the environment.
Kids, don'tfight!
Commands with "let's"
When we want to make a suggestion to a group of people and we are
included in that group, we use the word "let's"
and then the verb in infinitive.
This
is like giving a command to a group of people and to ourselves at the
same time. We often use it when we are making a suggestion for
ourselves and one other person.
For example:
It is a beautiful day. Let'sgo to the park for a picnic.
Let'stake a
moment to think about this before we give them an answer.
Let'sfinish this project before lunch.
Let'sgo to the supermarket this afternoon.
Let'sget married!
Negative commands with "let's"
When we want to say that we should not do something, we can use "let's" and the word "not" and then the verb in infinitive.
For example:
Let'snothave chicken for dinner again tonight.
Let'snotwatch television tonight.
Let'snotworry about that until it becomes a real problem.
Let'snotask ask Angela about her thesis.
Let'snotplay tennis together again!
So,
giving instructions, commands, suggestions, and directions in English
is really very easy! Be sure to carefully review these rules and write
your own examples to practice.