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Difference between asking and telling The difference between asking and telling someone not to do something is that telling someone is more direct. [Tweet “It is much more polite to ask someone to do something rather than tell someone to do something.”] Look at these examples:
So, if in doubt, ask before telling! Recommended for you:
1 to put a question or questions to
2 to make a request of
3 to set or receive as a price
4 to request the presence or participation of Imperative sentences are how you communicate the things you need others around you to do. When you tell your friend where to pick you up after work, when you teach your new colleague how to perform their job duties, and even when you tell your dog to sit, you’re using imperative sentences.
Grammarly helps you communicate confidently What is an imperative sentence?When you make a request, offer advice, issue a command, or give an instruction, you use the imperative mood. Sentences that use the imperative mood are known as imperative sentences. To put it bluntly, an imperative sentence is a sentence that tells somebody to do something. That “somebody” doesn’t necessarily have to be another person—when you use voice commands with virtual assistants such as Alexa and Google Assistant, you’re using imperative sentences. Similarly, when you tell your dog to sit, stay, leave it, or come, you’re speaking in imperative sentences. Here are some examples of imperative sentences:
Imperative sentences are just one kind of sentence. Others include:
A declarative sentence is a sentence that makes a statement. This statement can be a fact or an opinion. Here are two examples of declarative sentences:
Sometimes, it’s not always clear whether a sentence is imperative or declarative. Consider this:
Although this sentence tells the listener what they need to do, it’s not directly commanding them to put their phone away. Because of this, it’s a declarative sentence. An imperative version of this sentence would be “Put your phone away.” An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that expresses a heightened emotion. This kind of sentence always ends with an exclamation point, like these:
An interrogative sentence is a sentence that asks a question. Here are two interrogative sentences:
An imperative sentence that makes a request isn’t the same as an interrogative sentence. Think about the difference between these two sentences:
While the first one, an imperative sentence, firmly tells the listener what the speaker wants them to do, the second feels more open-ended and implies that the speaker would accept either “yes” or “no” as an answer. The listener can certainly say “no” to the first sentence, but doing so—especially when the asker is a supervisor or another person in a position of power over the listener—can feel like an act of noncompliance and thus awkward. We talk more about lessening the awkwardness that can come with imperative sentences later on in this post. Imperative sentence examplesAn imperative sentence can tell its subject to do (or not do) just about anything. Take a look at a few more examples:
Affirmative vs. negative imperative sentencesImperative sentences come in two forms: affirmative and negative. An affirmative imperative sentence tells the reader or listener to take a specific action. Here are a few examples:
A negative imperative sentence tells the reader or listener to not do something. Examples of these include:
Conditional imperative sentencesAlthough most of the example sentences we’ve used so far are simple, one-clause sentences, don’t assume every imperative sentence is this brief. An imperative sentence can have multiple clauses, and in many cases, these multi-clause sentences are conditional sentences. A conditional sentence is a sentence that illustrates a cause and its (guaranteed, likely, or even highly unlikely) effect. Take a look at these examples of conditional imperative sentences:
Imperative sentence structureImperative sentences nearly always start with imperative verbs. Imperative verbs are the root forms of verbs that, when followed by the objects of their sentences, form imperative sentences. Take a look at the imperative verbs bolded in these examples:
As you can see, the verb usually comes first in an imperative sentence. But this isn’t always the case. Take a look at where the verb fits into these examples:
Typically, the subject of an imperative sentence is implied. In some imperative sentences, an indirect object also follows the verb. In others, there is no indirect object. And in some imperative sentences, like these, the verb is the entire sentence: An imperative sentence always ends with either a period or an exclamation point. How to soften imperative sentencesThe following imperative sentence could land as rude: “Don’t tell me what to do.” One challenge writers often run into with imperative sentences is that they can come across as bossy, even when the writer doesn’t mean for them to be. This is especially true when you’re communicating via text or email because you can’t use your tone of voice or body language to soften the request. So how can you tell people to do things without sounding like you’re barking orders at them? There are a few ways, and the right way for a given sentence depends on a few factors:
Generally, adding the word “please” to an imperative sentence instantly makes its tone more polite. Compare these sentences:
With a request, another way to soften your sentence’s tone is to turn it into a question:
In this case, it stops being an imperative sentence, but it achieves the same goal of making a request to the listener. What about situations where you need to make a direct instruction? Context can help. For example, if your party invitation simply states, “Don’t park in our driveway,” this could be interpreted as cold and rude. But if you follow it up with the reason for the command with something like, “Don’t park in our driveway; it’s a shared driveway and our neighbors need to be able to get in and out during the party,” your tone instantly changes from demanding to approachable. Navigating tone can be tricky in written communication, especially when you’re communicating with people who’ve never met you face-to-face. If you ever aren’t sure how a sentence or a longer piece of text will come across to its reader, try reading it aloud and listening to its tone. It can also be helpful to have another person read your writing and tell you how your tone comes across. Don’t use emojis to soften your tone except for in very casual conversation. While you might interpret an emoji one way, your recipient might interpret it completely differently—and potentially perceive you as smug, condescending, or mocking. Stick to softening your tone with politeness when necessary, but don’t convolute your writing with excessive niceties. This only makes your message less clear, which is the exact opposite of what you need when you’re using imperative sentences. Grammarly can also help you determine if your tone is impolite and can be softened. Grammarly’s tone detector will flag when your writing veers into unfriendly territory, and our tone suggestions can offer help for adjusting your wording to help make your sentences, imperative or not, be interpreted as polite. Imperative sentence FAQsWhat is an imperative sentence?An imperative sentence is a sentence that gives the reader an instruction, makes a request, or issues a command. How do you make a sentence imperative?To make a sentence imperative, use an imperative verb. This is the root form of a verb followed by an instruction to the subject to take a specific action. What are examples of an imperative sentence?
Can an imperative sentence also be a declarative, interrogative, or exclamatory sentence?No. Each type of sentence achieves a specific goal, and when a sentence tells the listener to do something specific, it’s an imperative sentence. |