FormImperativ + bitte / mal / doch (+ Rest)
Meaning and usage
A bare command like Mach das Fenster zu can sound sharp. The little words bitte, mal and doch make it friendlier. bitte means please and works with every form of the imperative. mal means for a moment or quickly and makes a request sound casual. doch means why not and turns an order into a suggestion.
mal and doch go right after the verb, or after a pronoun: Komm mal her, Nimm dir doch ein paar Tage frei. bitte is free: Bitte komm her, Komm bitte her and Komm her, bitte are all normal.
Examples 5
Mach bitte das Fenster zu.
Please close the window.
Komm mal her.
Come here a moment.
Bring mir bitte die Zeitung von heute.
Bring me today's paper, please.
Nimm dir doch ein paar Tage frei!
Why not take a few days off?
Komm doch am Montag zum Abendessen vorbei!
Why don't you come over for dinner on Monday?
Test yourself
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1 Sprachbausteine
Entschuldigung, zeigen Sie mir den Weg zum Bahnhof!
Show answer
Correct answer: bitte
Only bitte can stand before the verb of a command. mal and doch come after it.
- gern says you like doing something, and it does not soften a command here.
- mal comes after the verb: Zeigen Sie mir mal den Weg.
- doch comes after the verb, and it makes a suggestion, not a request to a stranger.
In this topic: Imperative
- Komm! Mach das! du command: verb stem, no du, no -st
- Kommt! Macht das! Command to a group you address as ihr
- Kommen Sie! Formal command: verb first, then Sie
- Nimm! Lies! Fahr! du-command with e→i or e→ie vowel change
- Sei! Seid! Seien Sie! Commands with sein: be
- bitte, mal, doch Softens a command: please, a moment, why not
- Gehen wir! Let's do something together
Example sentences from Tatoeba, used under CC BY 2.0 FR. See sources.