Latin for Students
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Imperative mood

The imperative mood is the easiest mood in Latin. Why? It only has one person - second person, and only one tense - present. This mood is used to communicate an order/command, and sometimes a request. (The verb impero, imperare, imperavi, imperatus means "to command") It is often used with the vocative case, which is used to directly address someone. Makes sense, right? When you are ordering or requesting someone to do something, you often directly address them by name.

Here are some English examples of the imperative mood:
  • Go clean your room, now!
  • Give me your phone!
  • Do your chores!
  • Calculate the mass of the sun.
  • Explain why two plus two equals four.

Forming the imperative is easy. (Isn't it so nice to find easy things in Latin?) As I said above, there is only one tense, present. To form the singular imperative (speaking only to one person), just take the -re off the second principal part.
  • example: moveo, movere, movi, motus --> movere --> move
    • (That's right, "Move!" in Latin is "Move!")
  • Exceptions: 
    • dic - talk! (from dico, dicere, dixi, dictus)
    • duc - lead! (from duco, ducere, duxi, ductus)
    • fac - do/make! (from facio, facere, feci, factus)
    • fert - carry! (from fero, ferre, tuli, latus)


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  • Home
  • About
    • The Site
    • The Creator
  • Grammar
    • Nouns >
      • Case >
        • Nominative case
        • Genitive case
        • Vocative case
        • Locative case
      • Number
      • Gender
      • Declension >
        • First declension
        • Second declension
        • Third declension
        • Fourth declension
        • Fifth declension
    • Pronouns >
      • Personal pronouns
      • Relative pronouns
      • Interrogative pronouns
      • Demonstrative pronouns
      • Reflexive pronouns
    • Adjectives
    • Verbs >
      • Person + Number
      • Tense >
        • The imperfect tenses >
          • Present tense
          • Future tense
          • Imperfect tense
        • The perfect tenses >
          • Perfect tense
          • Pluperfect tense
          • Future perfect tense
      • Infinitives
    • Adverbs
    • Prepositions
    • Conjunctions
  • Helpful tips
    • Tips for memorizing vocabulary
    • Tips for translating
    • Scansion
  • Fun Stuff!
    • Latin insults
    • Names that come from Latin