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The imperative: affirmative and negative forms

Presentation / Objective

In English, we use the imperative to give orders, commands, and directions.

For example, in a classroom the teacher usually uses expressions like these:

classroom

Come to the front and look at the board.

Kheel Center. (2010). Classroom. Retrieved on 2017, April 24 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/kheelcenter/5279510724

Don't Write

Don't write at this moment.

Morgan, M. (2013). Don't write. Retrieved on 2017, April 24 from https://www.flickr.com/photos/markmorgantrinidad/12588221354

This topic is organized as follows:

In the first section you will find the rules on how to form and use imperatives.
Then you will find four activities. Each activity focuses on one of the basic language skills: reading, listening, writing, and speaking. The fifth section is a quiz to assess the contents covered throughout the unit.

Objective:

At the end of this topic you will:
• Use the affirmative and negative forms of the imperative to follow and give instructions, commands and orders in a classroom through school situations.

Content

The imperative

Now let's see how to use imperatives.

Click on each concept to read the information.

Affirmative imperative

"Close the door, Ana. There's a lot of noise outside".
Stand up
Turn off your cell phone
Be quiet.

Close the door is an imperative sentence. The sentence means, "Ana, I want you to close the door. I am telling you to close the door."
An imperative sentence uses the simple form of a verb: stand, pay, be, etc.)

Negative imperative

Don't eat in class.
Don't play with your cell phones.
Don't be late.

A negative imperative uses don't + the simple form of a verb (eat, play, be, etc.)

We use imperatives to give orders, directions and to make requests. To sound more polite, you can add the word please at the end or at the beginning of the sentence.

Order

Stop talking

Direction

Go to page 65.

Request

Open the window, please.
Please show me your homework.

Now that you have studied when and how to use the imperative, it is time to practice it. Do the reading, writing, listening and speaking activities that follow.

Reading

Activity 1.

Activity 1. Language lab rules

In the last section you studied the imperative form to give instructions, orders, commands and directions. This activity focuses on rules.

In this activity you will read ten important rules of a language laboratory that students have to follow.
Read the five rules on the right and drag the different images from the right column to the appropriate space in the left column. You have unlimited attempts to answer the exercise. You can know your score at the end of the exercise.

Listening

Activity 2.

In a classroom

In the content section you studied the imperative form to give instructions, orders, commands and directions. This activity focuses on instructions.

In this activity you will listen to ten common situations taking place in a language classroom. First read the ten instructions the teacher gives. Then listen to the ten audios and identify which instruction corresponds to each situation. Match each audio icon to the correct instruction. Drag the icon to the corresponding instruction. You will know your result at the end.

Writing

Activity 3.

Classroom instructions

In the content section you studied the imperative form to give instructions, orders, commands and directions. This activity focuses on instructions.

In this activity you will write ten imperative sentences to describe common instructions in an English class. First look at the images and read the verbs in the box. Then write the sentences to create a poster. You can use the images and the verbs or add other ideas. Remember to use affirmative and negative imperatives

collage

Remember to check the rubric, so that you get familiar with the aspects that will be evaluated.

After typing your activity on a word processor, save it to your computer. Click on the Submit button and browse the file in your computer. Click on Upload this file and click on the Save changes button.

Speaking

Activity 4.

An unruly classroom

In the content section you studied the imperative form to give instructions, orders, commands and directions. This activity focuses on instructions.

In this activity you will take the role of a teacher. Imagine you have this class of eight unruly teenagers.
Give them instructions to have control of the class again. Give each student a name and give him/her an order. Then give the whole class two orders or instructions. You should create 10 sentences in total. Use affirmative or negative imperatives.

Unruly Classroom
http://study.com/cimages/hub/What%20to%20Do%20When%20Unruly%20Students%20Leave%20You%20Exhausted%20in%20Class.jpg

For example: Carlos, don't eat in the classroom.
Remember you can sound more polite if you add please at the beginning or the end of the sentence:
Carlos, don't eat in the classroom, please.

Your audio should last between 40 seconds and one minute. Press the button to record the sentences. A teacher will check and evaluate your oral production.

Please before you send the audio; make sure it has the characteristics described in the rubric.

Reference

Basic references:

Azar, B. (1996). Basic English Grammar. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.
Design A Custom Sign Online Interactively - Custom Printing for Any Event | MakeSigns.com Wide Format Printing. Makesigns.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017, from http://www.makesigns.com/Signs_Home.aspx
Latham-Koening, C., & Oxenden, C. (2013). American English File 1 Student Book. Oxford: OUP.
Photo Editor | BeFunky: Free Online Photo Editing and Collage Maker. BeFunky. Retrieved 11 April 2017, from https://www.befunky.com/
Swan, M., & Walter, C. (2011) Oxford English Grammar Course Basic. Oxford: OUP.

Complementary

Imperative - Exercises - Lingolia English. (2017). English.lingolia.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017, from https://english.lingolia.com/en/grammar/verbs/imperative/exercises
Imperatives - How to give commands in English and more!. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 11 April 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDtaFNLov4Y
Lección de inglés: Imperative Sentences. Curso-ingles.com. Retrieved 11 April 2017, from http://www.curso-ingles.com/aprender/cursos/nivel-basico/sentence-structure/imperative-sentences