Der Imperativ!
Just like in English, the imperative form is used to direct commands or orders at people, usually followed by an exclamation mark, though optional.
Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
infnitive | schlafen | geben | anfangen |
2nd person singular | schlaf | gib | fang |
2nd person plural | schlafen | geben | fangen |
The sentence structure is quite similar to the English imperative form too, the sentences always begin with a verb, though the verb endings may differ from its original infinitive.
Generally the verbs are spoken in the 2nd person singular or its plural form. For the 2nd person singular regular verbs can get the -e suffix added to the stem of the infinitive, though it can also be left out with just the stem, both variants are accepted, although the stem-only variant wields more power into them!
The same word stems from the infinitive where both the suffix and prefix are removed, usually the suffix consists of the -en ending.
But of course there are exceptions to it too. If a regular verb's stem ends in a -d or -t, the e is never omitted.
Verbs which experience a vowel change in their conjungation will take that change and also omit the -e suffix in the imperative form, for instance the verb geben takes on the form er/sie/es gibt, the imperative form would be gib.
Now we continue with the second most usual occurance of the imperative: The 2nd person plural. In this case the present tense form is used for the verb and you don't have to worry about the word's stem.
The formal spelling of you as in Sie also accounts to 2nd person plural and follows the same rules with the addition that the Sie always follows the first verb in the imperative form.
The imperative form can also be used for the 1st person plural, in this case the verb uses the present tense.