De Imperatief (Imperative)

The imperatief is the mood of commands, requests, suggestions, and warnings. Dutch has two main imperative forms — informal and formal — and they’re simpler than the imperative systems of French, Italian, or Spanish.

There’s no separate plural imperative. Same form for one person or many. The only social variable is the jij (informal) vs. u (formal) distinction, which appears optionally.

The informal imperative — bare stem

The everyday imperative is just the verb stem (the same as the ik form of the present tense).

The imperative drops the jij subject pronoun. No subject, just the verb.

Kom hier! — Come here! Lees dit boek. — Read this book. Werk harder. — Work harder.

Strong verbs and stem changes

Some verbs have a stem that differs from the infinitive (due to vowel shortening or consonant changes). The imperative uses the stem, not the infinitive.

Note: these verbs have shortened stems (just one vowel) that look truncated, but the imperative form is correct as is.

Ga weg! — Go away! Doe het! — Do it! Zie je dat? — Well actually this is a question, not imperative; Zie! alone is rare. The imperative of zien is mostly used as kijk (look) in practice.

Irregular imperatives

A few common verbs have slightly irregular imperatives:

Wees voorzichtig! — Be careful! Heb medelijden! — Have pity!

The formal imperative — verb + u

For formal commands (with strangers, customers, older people), use the present-tense u-form of the verb, often followed by u. The word u can appear or be omitted.

Komt u binnen. — Please come in. Gaat u zitten. — Please sit down. Leest u dit, alstublieft. — Please read this.

The formal u-imperative often sounds slightly stiff. In modern Dutch, formal requests are more often phrased with the conditional or with u kunt + infinitive:

Kunt u even binnenkomen? — Could you come in for a moment? Zou u willen gaan zitten? — Would you mind sitting down?

The conditional is the polite Dutch tool. The bare imperative, even formal, can sound abrupt.

Word order with separable verbs

Separable verbs split in the imperative too. The prefix goes to the end:

Pas op! — Watch out! (opletten — pas + op) Sta op! — Get up! (opstaan — sta + op) Doe je jas aan. — Put on your coat. (aandoen — doe + aan)

The conjugated stem stays at the front; the prefix migrates to the end. Same rule as in declarative sentences. See scheidbare-werkwoorden.

Negative imperative — just add niet

There’s no special negative-imperative form in Dutch. Simply add niet or geen after the verb:

Loop niet weg! — Don’t walk away! Drink geen koffie. — Don’t drink coffee. Praat niet zo hard. — Don’t talk so loudly.

For “don’t” + infinitive (in instructions/signs), Dutch uses niet + infinitive:

Niet roken. — No smoking. Niet doorlopen. — Don’t walk through.

This infinitive form is common on signs and in formal written instructions.

Object placement — pronouns after the verb

When a pronoun is the object of an imperative, it goes after the verb:

Geef het mij! — Give it to me! Vergeet mij niet. — Don’t forget me. Help hem. — Help him.

Pronouns don’t attach to the verb in Dutch (unlike Italian or Spanish where they attach with hyphens). They sit as separate words.

Suggestions with laten we

For “let’s do X” (the cohortative), Dutch uses laten we + infinitive:

Laten we gaan. — Let’s go. Laten we morgen eten. — Let’s eat tomorrow. Laten we het proberen. — Let’s try it.

This is the equivalent of English let’s or French allons. Note: laten we is the standard; the alternative laat ons exists but is more formal/written.

Politeness — softening commands

Bare imperatives can sound abrupt in Dutch. To soften, native speakers often add:

• alsjeblieft (please, informal) or alstublieft (please, formal)
• eventjes (just for a moment, softening time)
• even (a bit, softening intensity)
• misschien (maybe — turning the imperative into a suggestion)

Wacht even, alsjeblieft. — Wait a moment, please. Geef me eventjes het boek. — Just hand me the book for a moment.

The conditional + willen is the most polite form:

Zou je dat willen doen? — Would you mind doing that?

What you don’t need to do

You don’t need to memorise different imperative forms for tu/vous/nous. Dutch has only the informal singular/plural form (no number distinction) and the formal u-form.

You don’t need to use the bare imperative in service interactions. Reach for the conditional + willen instead: Zou u dat willen doen?

You don’t need to inflect imperatives for tense. There’s no past imperative or future imperative — only present.

Common confusions

• The imperative is just the verb stem. Kom, not koment or komje. The simplest verb form, with no ending.
• Separable verbs separate. Sta op!, not Opstaan!. The prefix goes to the end.
• No subject pronoun. Kom hier, not Jij kom hier. The subject is implicit.
• Negation just adds niet. Loop niet, not niet lopen (the latter is an infinitive form used on signs).

Where you’ll meet it in the library

Imperatives are everywhere in dialogue. Especially clean exposure in:

• The Low Countries (A2+) — Storica’s book has imperatives in tour-guide commentary (kijk, let op, lees), in historical speech reconstructions, and in modern dialogue scenes.
• Any Dutch sign or instruction. Streets, museums, public transport — all full of imperative forms.