Three audiences, three forms. One rule.

Take the present-tense form of the verb for the relevant pronoun, drop the pronoun, and for du drop the final -st. The result: du kommst → Komm!, ihr kommt → Kommt!, Sie kommen → Kommen Sie!, wir kommen → Kommen wir!. The one true irregular is sein: Sei! / Seid! / Seien Sie! / Seien wir!. All other imperative forms follow this rule mechanically — there is only one irregular to memorise.

Drop the pronoun du and the -st ending from the present-tense du-form: du lernst → Lern!, du kaufst → Kauf!, du machst → Mach!. For verbs whose stem ends in -t, -d, or a difficult consonant cluster, a supporting -e is inserted: du arbeitest → Arbeite!, du öffnest → Öffne!. The -e suffix is also acceptable in formal or written register for most verbs (komme!, fahre!), but in everyday speech the bare stem is the norm.

It depends on the change type — and this asymmetry is the most common A2 error. Verbs with an e→i or e→ie change in the present-tense du/er form keep that change in the du-imperative: nehmen → Nimm!, lesen → Lies!, geben → Gib!, sprechen → Sprich!, sehen → Sieh!. Verbs with an a→ä umlaut change do NOT carry the umlaut into the imperative: fahren → Fahr! (not *Fähr!), tragen → Trag!, schlafen → Schlaf!. The rule: keep e→i/ie changes; drop a→ä changes.

sein is the only verb with truly irregular imperative forms across all four persons: du → Sei!, ihr → Seid!, Sie → Seien Sie!, wir → Seien wir!. No other common verb shares this irregularity — all stem-vowel-changing verbs follow the predictable e→i/e→ie or a→ä sub-rules rather than having unique forms. Memorise sei/seid/seien as the one exception.

The prefix moves to the end of the clause, exactly as in the Satzklammer pattern for finite main clauses: aufstehen → Steh auf!, ausmachen → Mach das Licht aus!, aufpassen → Pass auf!. The prefix never stays attached to the verb in an imperative. This is the same verb-bracket behaviour as a modal with an infinitive or a Perfekt auxiliary with Partizip II — the same Satzklammer rule, not a new phenomenon.

Bare imperatives are grammatically correct but can sound blunt in everyday speech. Native speakers routinely add one or two particles: mal makes the request casual ("Ruf mal an!" — just give me a call); doch adds a nudge or mild impatience ("Komm doch rein!" — come in, will you); bitte is the neutral politeness marker ("Schreib bitte deinen Namen."); eben/halt signal inevitability or resignation ("Mach es halt." — just do it, then). Particles can combine: "Hör doch mal zu!". Omitting all particles in most registers marks a speaker as non-native.

The choice mirrors the T/V register distinction (duzen vs siezen). Use du-imperative with friends, family, children under 15, and peers in informal settings. Use Sie-imperative with strangers, colleagues in formal workplaces, service staff, and officials: "Bitte nehmen Sie Platz." Note that many German companies and hospitality contexts have shifted to du as the default — when in doubt, follow the cue the other person uses first.

The wir-imperative (Kommen wir!, Gehen wir!, Fangen wir an!) translates to "let's …" and functions as a softer group suggestion rather than a direct command — the speaker includes themselves in the action. The structure is identical to an inverted yes/no question: verb first, then wir. In formal contexts it competes with "Lassen Sie uns …" (the Sie-register equivalent of "let's"), but in everyday speech "Gehen wir!" is natural and common.