Imperative Verbs – In linguistic works the term imperative uses the term imperative sentence. In his book entitled Composition: An Introduction to Language Proficiency , Keraf explains that a command sentence or what is also known as an imperative sentence is a sentence that contains an order or a request for someone to another person to do something he wants. This order can be given in written or oral form.
Meanwhile, according to the Big Indonesian Dictionary or KBBI, imperative has the meaning of a sentence that is giving orders or giving commands, has the right to give commands, and is obligatory.
In a book entitled Kelas Kata in Indonesian , Kridalaksana explains that imperative sentences are sentences or verbs that are commonly used to express imperatives, prohibitions and orders to perform certain actions.
This is also in line with the explanation in the book entitled Indonesian Standard Grammar , Alwi explained that an imperative sentence is a sentence that is used in accordance with a contest to order something.
Definition of Imperative Sentences
Previously, it has been explained briefly related to what imperative sentences are. Well, in this point we will explain further related to the meaning of the imperative sentence itself.
Rahardi explained in a book entitled Pragmatics: Indonesian Imperative Unity if an imperative sentence is a sentence which contains a request for the person who is given the order to take action according to what he said.
Imperative sentences are grouped into five types. The five kinds of imperative sentences are as follows.
- Regular imperative sentences;
- Request imperative sentence;
- Imperative sentence granting permission;
- Invitation imperative sentence;
- Command imperative sentence.
A study entitled Forms of Indonesian Imperative Speech , Adriyanto explained that interactive sentences are useful as imperative sentences, namely utterances which contain ordering, forcing, ordering, inviting and asking that the person who is ordered to do something according to what is ordered. When communicating, the form of the imperative has a more significant communicative function.
This was also emphasized by Rahardi who explained that the form of the imperative is indeed interesting to study, examine and study. One of the reasons is because this linguistic form has a significant communicative function.
When carrying out daily communication, language is indeed the main medium. Therefore, the imperative form is always present in every communication made by humans. This also further emphasizes that imperative forms are always present in human communication, including in the da’wah communication of a religious leader to the participants.
From some of the opinions above, it can be concluded that imperative sentences are words that contain imperative sentences. Humans in their lives will never be separated from the name of communication. Where every communication that will be carried out by humans will have imperative sentences to the interlocutor to take action according to the wishes of the speaker.
Sentence Functions and Imperative Verbs
Judging from the explanation of the meaning of the imperative above, it can be concluded that the presence of imperative verbs is used in sentences of commands or instructions. Keraf explained that utterances that use imperative verbs can be conveyed in the form of demanding responses or reactions.
Where the response can be in the form of a verbal or nonverbal reaction until in the end the form of the reaction can lead to a certain action. Simply put, the function of the imperative sentence is to ask someone to act or do something.
So, the explanation of the function of sentences and imperative verbs is as follows.
1. Give a Prohibition
The function of imperative sentences is not only related to commands. But another function of the imperative sentence is as a prohibition in doing something. Of course, a prohibition is also related to things that should be avoided.
The following is an example of an imperative sentence with the function of a prohibition.
- “Don’t eat in a hurry!”
Reason: Eating in a hurry can cause us to choke and even bite our tongue. - “Don’t be noisy in the middle of the night!”
Reason: Being noisy in the middle of the night can disturb other people who are resting. - “Don’t read in the dark!”
Reason: Reading in a dark place can cause our eyes to hurt and it’s hard to focus.
2. Giving a Command
Previously, it was explained that imperative sentences according to the Big Indonesian Dictionary or KBBI are related to orders and commands. The command function in imperative sentences is more formal in nature and will usually be used by those who have a certain position.
Then, an example of an imperative sentence with a command function is as follows.
- “Perform an attack at night with the tactics we have learned so far!”
- “Immediately surround the opponent’s fort so that our goal is successful!”
- “Just do what you’ve been told to do!”
3. Delivering a Sign
Imperative sentences can function to convey a sign or a code to the other person. Where the existence of this signal or code will usually be understood by the other person alone.
- “No need to hesitate, if you like it, just take it!”
- “Eat something you like!”
- “Buy what you want!”
If we look at some of the examples above, according to the context, a sign is something that can only be understood by the other person and the speaker. Whereas other people outside the interlocutor or speaker usually will not understand something conveyed through imperative sentences with the function of the sign.
4. Giving an Order
In general, imperative sentences do have the function of giving orders to the other person so they can do something the speaker wants. Imperative sentences with command functions will be accompanied by certain sentences such as Please, Please, Come on, Please, Wish to still have a subtle and polite impression.
So for an example is as follows.
- “Please take care of my sister for a while, I’m going to dry the clothes for a while.”
- “Please take me to school later at 8 in the morning!”
- “Please buy me a pack of nasi padang at the stall in front of the alley!”
5. Offer an Invitation
The existence of imperative sentences can also have a function as an invitation. The core function of imperative sentences is almost the same as persuasive sentences. Even so specifically for imperative sentences it functions more to offer invitations but in a more general context.
To make it easier to understand, here is an example of an imperative sentence with an invitation function.
- “Come on, put your shoes on!”
- “Let’s quickly get ready to head to the church!”
- “Let’s go to the central building to watch the exhibition preparations!”
Characteristics of Imperative Sentences
In general, imperative sentences have the main characteristics as sentences with the nature of ordering or giving commands. Now for more details, below are some of the characteristics of imperative sentences that can distinguish them from other sentences.
- At the end of the imperative sentence will be followed by special punctuation marks such as exclamation marks (!) and not periods (.).
- When imperative sentences are spoken in spoken form, there will be a high enough emphasis and intonation at the end of the sentence.
- Imperative sentences will have a structure in the form of a predicate that precedes the subject.
- At the end of the sentence you will usually find an affix in the form of -lah or -kan.
- Imperative sentences tend to have the character of forcing the other party which seems to require the other person to do something according to what he said.
- When the imperative sentence has the function of giving orders, it will be accompanied by these words such as Please, Please, Come, Please, Want and so on.
Types of Imperative Sentences
As previously explained, imperative sentences can be divided into several types. There are at least five types of imperative sentences. Starting from ordinary imperative sentences, imperative sentences of requests, imperative sentences of granting permission, imperative sentences of solicitation and imperative sentences of orders.
Where each type of imperative sentence has its own meaning and function. So that you understand better, here is a description of the types of imperative sentences.
1. Ordinary Imperative Sentences
Rahardi explained that an ordinary imperative sentence is a simple form of a command sentence that is carried out directly. In the imperative sentence of this ordinary type it has several characteristics in it as explained below.
- Have basic verbs
- Use loud intonation
- There are particles.
- There are basic verbs.
- Using exclamation marks (!)
- Verbs usually end in -an, -I, and -kan.
For example: Drive the chicken away quickly!
Context: someone may have annoyance with chickens because they throw dirt in their yard area and then give orders to other people to drive away the chickens.
2. Imperative Sentence Request
Imperative sentences of the request type will usually be carried out smoothly and politely in their pronunciation.
An example of a request imperative sentence is as follows.
- “Children… Try not to make a lot of noise, I want to explain an announcement related to Kartini’s Day tomorrow!”
Context: A teacher standing in front of students who are in a noisy classroom situation.
3. Imperative Sentence Granting Permission
The next imperative sentence is a type of granting permission. Usually, the type of imperative sentence giving permission will be marked with words of politeness. For example, the word Please, Let, Introduced, Allowed, Welcome, and so forth.
An example of an imperative sentence granting permission is as follows.
- “Mother… Please take and taste this nastar cake if you want! This is my own handmade, guaranteed delicious!”
Context: A home owner is giving permission to his guests to taste his pineapple cakes.
4. Inviting Imperative Sentences
Invitation imperative sentence is a sentence that basically invites other people to do something together. Interactive sentences of this type will usually use unit markers such as Come, Let, Try, Come, Hope, Should, Should, and others. To make it clearer for you, here is an example.
- “Bima, let’s move this clothes basket to the back room! You lift the red basket, I lift the green basket!”
Context: An older sibling invites his younger sibling named Bima to move the clothes basket to the back room together.
5. Commanding Imperative Sentences
The type of imperative interactive sentence will be in the form of an imperative sentence to do something.
Examples of Imperative Sentences
Previously, several examples of imperative sentences have been explained according to their function. Apart from that, there are still lots of examples of imperative sentences that you might have said before but didn’t know if these sentences were included in the imperative sentence category.
So that you understand more about imperative sentences. The following is an example of an imperative sentence quoted from the official sinaumedia.com website .
- Please take out the trash!
- Sabda, get into the house immediately because it’s very cold outside!
- Guys, please pay attention for a moment!
- Come on, put on the mask!
- Let him cry as much as he wants first, then we’ll ask what caused it!
- Please take a closer look, if you really don’t need it, maybe you can just delete the writing!
- Please sign this letter immediately so that it can be processed further!
- Calm down, kids!
- Don’t read in a dark place.
- Please sit quietly!
- Don’t doubt yourself!
- Please come to the village hall this afternoon to discuss the Karang Taruna work program!
- Don’t be late for class!
- Immediately turn off the lights when it is noon!
- Please help Meta lift that chair!
- Bring this food for your lunch later!
- Don’t forget to stop by Grandma’s house after school!
- Let’s get to work right away!
- Quickly vacate this room!
- Clean the stains on your clothes before Mom knows!
- Please send this letter to the Village Secretary.
- Try to understand our current situation.
- Please convey our apologies to Billy’s family.
- Please give this nastar cake to your next door neighbor.
- Race participants are requested not to leave the field area.
- Obey all the rules in this school.
- Try not to be late for class again.
- Ask for proof of payment after making this transaction.
- Library visitors are requested to immediately return books to their respective places because the library is almost closed.
- Remove all the weeds so that your house looks clean.
- Please calm down, because the exam is in progress.
- Please close the door again as this room is air-conditioned.
- Let’s observe a moment of silence to commemorate the services of heroes who have sacrificed for the independence of this country.
- Take it easy and don’t move!
- Don’t rush, or you might fall!
- Put the dirty laundry in the washing machine, please!
- Obey traffic signs!
- Get up soon, the dawn call to prayer is heard!
- Do whatever makes you happy, as long as it doesn’t harm others!
- Get out of the room!
- Show us that you really mean it!
- It’s getting late, go to bed because tomorrow is school!
- Don’t listen to other people’s words that hurt you!
- Come on kids, cross with me!
- Be careful with the road because it is very slippery!
- Please turn off the faucet after use.
- Let’s work together to clean up the ditches around where we live!
- Don’t get used to sleeping with the window open!
- Do not bring outside food into this place!
- Don’t spit in public!
- No parking in front of the gate!
- Clean that floor immediately!
- Please fry the seasoned fish.
- Please don’t make noise while the exam is in progress.
- Wait a minute.
So, those are some summaries of imperative verbs that you can read in full above. Hopefully all the discussion above makes it easier for you to determine or make imperative sentences and verbs.