Imperative
Except for the strictly passive binyaním (pu'al and huf'al), each binyan has distinct imperative forms in the second person. This imperative form is only used for affirmative commands. pa'al, nif'al, pi'el and hif'il form their imperatives by dropping the initial ת tav of the future-tense form (e.g., תפתח /tifˈtaħ/ (singular, masc.) → פתח /ˈptaħ/ "open!", תשמרי /tiʃmeˈʁi/ (singular, fem.) → שמרי /ʃimˈʁi/ "guard!"); the fifth, hitpa'el, forms its imperative by replacing this initial ת with ה (/titbaˈtel/ → /hitbaˈtel/ "do nothing!"). (Note that the dropping of the initial ת often results in a change in vocalization, as can be seen in the instance of /tiʃmeˈʁi/ vs. /ʃimˈʁi/).
Negative commands use the particle אל /ˈal/ followed by the future-tense form. For example, אל תדאג /ˈal tidˈaɡ/ means "don't worry" (masculine, singular).
In informal speech, the future tense is commonly used for affirmative commands when making requests. Thus for example, תפתח /tifˈtaħ/ can mean either "you will open" or "would you open" (masculine, singular). (Similarly in English one might say "would you open" or "could you open" in lieu of simply "open".) In Hebrew, as in English, the more formal way to avoid the implication of commanding is to use the word "please" (בבקשה /be-vakaʃa/) with the imperative.
The infinitive can be used as a "general imperative" when addressing nobody in particular (e.g. on signs, or when giving general instructions to children or large groups), so that for example, נא לא לפתוח /ˈna ˈlo lifˈtoaħ/ means "please do not open". This might be more literally be rendered as "it is requested that not be opened": avoiding the question of address by using a passive voice.
Read more about this topic: Modern Hebrew Verb Conjugation
Famous quotes containing the word imperative:
“To me Americanism means ... an imperative duty to be nobler than the rest of the world.”
—Meyer London (1871–1926)
“If the Revolution has the right to destroy bridges and art monuments whenever necessary, it will stop still less from laying its hand on any tendency in art which, no matter how great its achievement in form, threatens to disintegrate the revolutionary environment or to arouse the internal forces of the Revolution, that is, the proletariat, the peasantry and the intelligentsia, to a hostile opposition to one another. Our standard is, clearly, political, imperative and intolerant.”
—Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)
“Because humans are not alone in exhibiting such behavior—bees stockpile royal jelly, birds feather their nests, mice shred paper—it’s possible that a pregnant woman who scrubs her house from floor to ceiling [just before her baby is born] is responding to a biological imperative . . . . Of course there are those who believe that . . . the burst of energy that propels a pregnant woman to clean her house is a perfectly natural response to their mother’s impending visit.”
—Mary Arrigo (20th century)