Imperative Mood

The Imperative Mood (Emir Kipi) is used to give commands, instructions and requests. Turkish has imperative forms for "you" (singular and plural/formal) and for "he/she/they" ("let him/her/them...").

Formation

• Sen: the bare stem, for friends, family, children: Gel! (Come!)
• Siz -(y)In: for several people or politely to one person. The y appears only after a vowel: okuyun, bekleyin. Some stems soften: git → gidin, et → edin.
• Siz -(y)InIz: more formal; typical of signs, instructions and announcements: Lütfen sıraya giriniz. (Please queue up.)
• O / Onlar -sIn / -sInlAr: "let him/her/them...", or an instruction passed on through someone: Ali içeri gelsin. (Have Ali come in.)

Negative: add -mA to the stem, then the person suffix (with buffer y before -In): gelme, gelmeyin, gelmeyiniz, gelmesin, gelmesinler.

Softening a Command

• lütfen (please), at the start or end: Lütfen yavaş konuşun. (Please speak slowly.)
• -sAnA / -sAnIzA (colloquial): a friendly — or, depending on tone, impatient — urging: Akşam bize gelsene! (Why don't you come over to ours this evening!), Otursanıza! (Do sit down!)
• A question in the aorist sounds most polite: Bir dakika bekler misiniz? (Could you wait a minute?)

Examples

• Kapıyı kapat! (Close the door!)
• Korkma! (Don't be afraid!)
• Sigara içmeyiniz. (Please do not smoke.)
• Çocuklar bahçede oynasın. (Let the children play in the garden.)

There is no 1st person imperative; use the Optative for "let me / let's": gideyim, gidelim.

Common Mistakes

• Using the bare stem with strangers or elders — it can sound rude. Use Gelin / Gelir misiniz?
• Missing the buffer y. Wrong: okun, gelmein. Correct: okuyun, gelmeyin.
• Wrong harmony in the plural. Wrong: okusunler. Correct: okusunlar.