Imperative Mood in Arabic

In Brief

In Modern Standard Arabic, a positive command addressed to you uses the imperative: اُكْتُبْ “write,” اُكْتُبي “write” to one woman, and اُكْتُبوا “write” to a group. A negative command keeps a present-tense form after لا: لا تَكْتُبْ “don’t write.” The ending changes according to whether you are addressing one man, one woman, two people, or a group.

Overview

The Arabic imperative, فعل الأمر (fiʿl al-amr), is the verb form used for direct requests, instructions, invitations, and commands. You encounter it in recipes, signs, apps, classrooms, directions, and everyday conversation: اِضْغَطْ هنا “click here,” اِنْتَظِرْ قليلًا “wait a little,” and تَعالَ “come.” Although “imperative” sounds forceful, the form itself is not always rude. Context, tone, and words such as مِن فَضْلِكَ “please” determine how it feels.

This A2 topic builds directly on the Arabic present tense, traditionally called the imperfect. That is the verb form seen in تَكْتُبُ “you write.” Positive commands are derived from its second-person forms. Negative commands use the jussive (a shortened verb form required after certain particles) following لا.

English normally has one command form—“write”—regardless of who is listening. Arabic makes distinctions that English leaves to context. The speaker must choose a masculine, feminine, dual, or plural form. This agreement is the central beginner rule; the less predictable commands of weak and irregular verbs can be learned gradually.

How It Works

The five addressee forms

Arabic imperatives are second person: they directly address “you.” Standard Arabic has five relevant “you” categories.

Addressee	Pronoun	Command from كتب “write”	Meaning
one man	أَنْتَ	اُكْتُبْ	write
one woman	أَنْتِ	اُكْتُبي	write
two people	أَنْتُما	اُكْتُبا	write, both of you
group of men or mixed group	أَنْتُم	اُكْتُبوا	write, all of you
group of women	أَنْتُنَّ	اُكْتُبْنَ	write, all of you women

The subject pronoun is normally omitted because the command ending already identifies the addressee. أنتِ اُكْتُبي is possible for contrast or emphasis, but plain اُكْتُبي is the usual command.

The dual اُكْتُبا is used for any two addressees: two men, two women, or one of each. The masculine plural also serves a mixed group. The specifically feminine plural form is important in careful Standard Arabic, even though many spoken dialects use a simpler set of forms.

Building a regular positive command

For a regular three-consonant verb, a useful method starts with the masculine singular “you” form of the present tense:

1. Put the present form into the jussive, usually by replacing its final ـُ with sukūn (no following vowel): تَكْتُبُ → تَكْتُبْ.
2. Remove the second-person prefix تَـ: كْتُبْ.
3. If the result begins with two consonants and is hard to pronounce, add a helping alif: اُكْتُبْ.

Present “you” form	Jussive	Remove تـ	Imperative	Meaning
تَكْتُبُ	تَكْتُبْ	كْتُبْ	اُكْتُبْ	write
تَجْلِسُ	تَجْلِسْ	جْلِسْ	اِجْلِسْ	sit
تَفْتَحُ	تَفْتَحْ	فْتَحْ	اِفْتَحْ	open
تَذْهَبُ	تَذْهَبْ	ذْهَبْ	اِذْهَبْ	go

This added alif carries hamzat al-waṣl, a “joining hamza” pronounced when speech begins with it but normally dropped when a preceding word connects to it. In ordinary unvocalized text it is written as a bare alif: اكتب، اجلس، افتح، اذهب.

For basic Form I verbs, the helping vowel is u when the middle vowel of the present stem is u, as in يَكْتُبُ → اُكْتُبْ. Otherwise it is normally i: يَجْلِسُ → اِجْلِسْ and يَفْتَحُ → اِفْتَحْ. Because short vowels are usually omitted in everyday Arabic writing, learners should study each new verb with its vocalized present and imperative forms.

Adding feminine, dual, and plural endings

The longer imperative forms correspond to the matching present-tense endings. In the feminine singular, dual, and masculine plural, the final ن of the ordinary present form disappears in the jussive and therefore also in the command.

Addressee	Present form	Jussive after لم	Positive command
one man	تَكْتُبُ	لَمْ تَكْتُبْ	اُكْتُبْ
one woman	تَكْتُبينَ	لَمْ تَكْتُبي	اُكْتُبي
two people	تَكْتُبانِ	لَمْ تَكْتُبا	اُكْتُبا
masculine or mixed group	تَكْتُبونَ	لَمْ تَكْتُبوا	اُكْتُبوا
feminine group	تَكْتُبْنَ	لَمْ تَكْتُبْنَ	اُكْتُبْنَ

In اُكْتُبوا, the final alif after وا is written but not pronounced. It is an orthographic marker commonly found after the group wāw attached to verbs.

Negative commands: لا + jussive

Arabic does not negate the positive imperative itself. Instead, use لا الناهية—the prohibitive لا, meaning “do not”—followed by the matching second-person jussive form.

Addressee	Negative command	Meaning
one man	لا تَكْتُبْ	don’t write
one woman	لا تَكْتُبي	don’t write
two people	لا تَكْتُبا	don’t write, either of you
masculine or mixed group	لا تَكْتُبوا	don’t write, all of you
feminine group	لا تَكْتُبْنَ	don’t write, all of you women

Notice that تـ remains in every negative command. Positive اُكْتُبْ and negative لا تَكْتُبْ are therefore built differently. This resembles English “write” versus “don’t write,” but Arabic also marks exactly which “you” is being addressed.

Common weak and irregular commands

A weak verb is a verb containing و or ي as one of its root consonants. Its command may lose or change a letter, so the simple “remove the prefix” method needs the same sound changes already found in its jussive form.

Dictionary verb	Present “he” form	Masculine singular command	Meaning
قال	يَقولُ	قُلْ	say
باع	يَبيعُ	بِعْ	sell
دعا	يَدْعو	اُدْعُ	call; invite; pray
مشى	يَمْشي	اِمْشِ	walk; go
أخذ	يَأْخُذُ	خُذْ	take
أكل	يَأْكُلُ	كُلْ	eat

Learn high-frequency forms such as قُلْ، خُذْ، كُلْ as complete words rather than trying to reconstruct them during conversation. Their feminine and plural forms still agree with the addressee: قولي “say” to one woman, قولوا “say” to a group; خُذي and خُذوا; كُلي and كُلوا.

Examples in Context

The transliteration below represents careful Modern Standard Arabic and makes the addressee endings visible. In ordinary writing, most short-vowel marks will be absent.

Arabic	Romanization	English	Note
اُكْتُبْ اسمَكَ هنا.	uktub ismaka hunā.	Write your name here.	one man
اُكْتُبي رقمَ الهاتفِ.	uktubī raqma al-hātif.	Write down the phone number.	one woman
اِجْلِسا هنا، مِن فَضْلِكُما.	ijlisā hunā, min faḍlikumā.	Sit here, please.	two people
اِذْهَبوا إلى القاعةِ الآن.	idhhabū ilā al-qāʿati al-ān.	Go to the hall now.	masculine or mixed group
اِفْتَحْ النافذةَ، مِن فَضْلِكَ.	iftaḥ an-nāfidhata, min faḍlika.	Open the window, please.	polite request to one man
اِسْمَعي هذا التسجيلَ.	ismaʿī hādhā at-tasjīla.	Listen to this recording.	one woman
اِنْتَظِروا خَمْسَ دقائقَ.	intaẓirū khamsa daqāʾiqa.	Wait five minutes.	instruction to a group
خُذْ هذا الدواءَ بعدَ الطعامِ.	khudh hādhā ad-dawāʾa baʿda aṭ-ṭaʿām.	Take this medicine after food.	irregular high-frequency form
قُلْ لي الحقيقةَ.	qul lī al-ḥaqīqata.	Tell me the truth.	literally “say to me”
اُدْعُ الطبيبَ حالًا.	udʿu aṭ-ṭabība ḥālan.	Call the doctor immediately.	final-weak verb
لا تَتَأَخَّرْ غدًا.	lā tataʾakhkhar ghadan.	Don’t be late tomorrow.	negative, one man
لا تَنْسَيْ مِفْتاحَكِ.	lā tansay miftāḥaki.	Don’t forget your key.	negative, one woman
لا تَفْتَحوا هذا البابَ.	lā taftaḥū hādhā al-bāba.	Don’t open this door.	negative, group
لا تَتَكَلَّمْ بسرعةٍ.	lā tatakallam bisurʿatin.	Don’t speak too quickly.	negative, one man
اُكْتُبْ ثمَّ راجِعْ إجابتَكَ.	uktub thumma rājiʿ ijābataka.	Write, then check your answer.	two commands in sequence

Common Mistakes

Using the masculine singular for everyone

• Wrong: اُكْتُبْ اسمَكِ when speaking to one woman.
• Right: اُكْتُبي اسمَكِ.
• Why: Arabic marks the addressee’s gender and number on the command. The feminine singular ending is ـي.

Negating the imperative with لا but dropping تـ

• Wrong: لا اِذْهَبْ.
• Right: لا تَذْهَبْ “don’t go.”
• Why: After prohibitive لا, Arabic uses the second-person jussive, not the positive imperative. Keep the present-tense prefix تـ.

Keeping the present-tense ن in a group command

• Wrong: اُكْتُبونَ.
• Right: اُكْتُبوا.
• Why: The final ن of present تَكْتُبونَ is removed in the jussive and imperative. The same principle gives اُكْتُبي and اُكْتُبا, not forms ending in ن.

Guessing the helping vowel

• Wrong: اِكْتُبْ with an initial i in careful pronunciation.
• Right: اُكْتُبْ with u.
• Why: The present is يَكْتُبُ, whose stem has u. Compare اِجْلِسْ from يَجْلِسُ. Unvocalized اكتب does not show this difference, so learn the pronunciation with the verb.

Writing a regular joining hamza as إ

• Wrong: إكتب or إذهب in standard spelling.
• Right: اكتب and اذهب; with vowel marks, اُكْتُبْ and اِذْهَبْ.
• Why: These regular commands begin with hamzat al-waṣl, normally written as bare ا, not hamzat al-qaṭʿ إ. Some derived verb patterns genuinely begin with أ, so this is not a rule for every imperative.

Restoring a weak letter that the jussive loses

• Wrong: قُولْ لي.
• Right: قُلْ لي “tell me.”
• Why: The long vowel in يَقولُ is shortened in the masculine singular jussive and imperative. Frequent weak commands must be memorized with their present forms.

Usage Notes

A bare imperative can sound neutral in instructions but abrupt in a personal request. اِضْغَطْ هنا “press here” is normal on a website, while asking a stranger اِفْتَحْ البابَ may sound too direct. Soften a request with مِن فَضْلِكَ to one man, مِن فَضْلِكِ to one woman, or مِن فَضْلِكُم to a group. رَجاءً “please” is another gender-neutral option.

Commands are not limited to orders. They can offer encouragement (حاوِلْ مَرَّةً أُخرى, “try again”), give directions (اِنْعَطِفْ يَمينًا, “turn right”), invite someone (تَفَضَّلْ, roughly “please go ahead”), or express good wishes (كُنْ بخيرٍ, “be well”). English translations may therefore use “please,” “let,” or a friendly suggestion even when Arabic has an imperative.

This article describes Modern Standard Arabic. Spoken varieties also have imperatives, but their vowels, prefixes, agreement forms, and polite-request strategies differ by region. A dialect form heard in conversation should not automatically be treated as the Standard Arabic form, or vice versa.

When two commands are linked, Arabic commonly uses وَ “and,” ثُمَّ “then,” or فَـ “so/then”: اِقْرَأْ ثُمَّ أَجِبْ “read, then answer.” Object pronouns can attach directly to a command: اِقْرَأْهُ “read it” and اُكْتُبْها “write it.” An object is the person or thing affected by the action.

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to master all of the following at A2, but these patterns explain forms you will meet in formal writing and richer vocabulary.

Derived verb patterns

Not every command needs an added initial alif. Arabic has derived stems, standard verb patterns that add letters or double consonants around a root. Their imperatives follow the jussive of their own pattern.

Past form	Present form	Command	Meaning
دَرَّسَ	يُدَرِّسُ	دَرِّسْ	teach
ساعَدَ	يُساعِدُ	ساعِدْ	help
أَكْرَمَ	يُكْرِمُ	أَكْرِمْ	honor; treat generously
تَعَلَّمَ	يَتَعَلَّمُ	تَعَلَّمْ	learn
اِنْطَلَقَ	يَنْطَلِقُ	اِنْطَلِقْ	set off
اِسْتَخْدَمَ	يَسْتَخْدِمُ	اِسْتَخْدِمْ	use

The initial hamza in أَكْرِمْ is hamzat al-qaṭʿ, a full hamza that remains pronounced even after a preceding word. This contrasts with the joining hamza in اِسْتَخْدِمْ. Learning the past, present, and verbal noun or command together makes these patterns much easier to recognize.

Commands involving “let …”

The ordinary imperative directly addresses the listener. To express “let him write,” “let them enter,” or “let us go,” formal Arabic can use لام الأمر, the command لِـ, with a jussive verb:

• لِيَكْتُبْ جوابَهُ. — Let him write his answer.
• لِيَدْخُلوا الآن. — Let them enter now.
• لِنَذْهَبْ. — Let us go.

These are not second-person imperative forms; they are jussive constructions with a command particle. In connected formal prose, the particle often follows فَـ or وَ: فَلْيَبْدَأْ “then let him begin.”

Prohibition versus ordinary negation

In fully vocalized Standard Arabic, the ending can distinguish a prohibition from an ordinary statement:

• لا تَكْتُبْ هنا. — Don’t write here. The verb is jussive.
• أنتَ لا تَكْتُبُ هنا عادةً. — You do not usually write here. The verb is indicative, the ordinary statement form.

Unvocalized text may spell both verb forms تكتب, so meaning and context do much of the work. This is one reason that recognizing particles and sentence purpose matters as much as recognizing letters.

Practice Tips

1. Build five-form sets. Take one familiar present-tense verb and say all five commands aloud: اِجْلِسْ، اِجْلِسي، اِجْلِسا، اِجْلِسوا، اِجْلِسْنَ. Then make the five negative forms with لا.
2. Learn three forms per verb. Record the past, present, and masculine singular command together—for example, كَتَبَ، يَكْتُبُ، اُكْتُبْ. This prevents guessing the initial vowel and highlights weak verbs.
3. Collect commands from real contexts. Look at Arabic recipes, interface buttons, classroom instructions, and public signs. Label each form by addressee, then rewrite a positive command as a prohibition and change singular forms to plural ones.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Present Tense (Imperfect) — provides the second-person forms and stems from which positive and negative commands are built.