Imperative Mood — Mood & Modality
What Is It?
The imperative mood issues commands, requests, or instructions.
Canonical pattern: (You) → Base Verb (+ Object).
Why Use Imperative Mood?
- Directness – tells users exactly what to do.
- Efficiency – removes extra words (“Open settings”).
- Consistency – aligns with button labels and CLI help.
- Engagement – motivates action in tutorials.
When to Choose Imperative Mood
- Step-by-step guides and runbooks.
- UI microcopy (“Save”, “Retry”).
- Git commit messages (“Fix memory leak”).
- Script comments marking TODOs.
Forming Imperative Sentences
| Form | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Positive | V (+ O) | Deploy the stack. |
| Negative | Do not + V | Do not delete the volume. |
| Inclusive | Let’s + V | Let’s migrate the data. |
| Passive | Be + V-pp | Be notified on failure. |
Tips for Writing with Imperative Mood
- Lead with a strong verb (“Configure”, “Rollback”).
- Group sequential steps with numbers.
- Add please for optional politeness in UX.
- Keep one action per sentence to avoid overload.
- End with the desired result when needed (“Restart Nginx to apply changes”).
Exceptions & Nuances
Passive imperatives suit formal warnings (“Be advised”). In regulated domains, prepend legal caveats (“Consult legal before proceeding”).