Imperative Verbs

One important component of any good set of instructions is the use of imperative verbs. Without imperative verbs, instructions may feel incomplete and not be as clear as they could be.

What are imperative verbs?

Imperative verbs are verbs that form a command or request. Sentences with imperative verbs provide directions, give commands, or offer advice to the reader. Because of this, they are the most common type of verb that you will come across in instructions.

Why are imperative verbs important in instruction writing?

As expressed previously, imperative verbs are crucial to instructions. Without them, your reader may not be able to understand what you are asking them to do. Imperative verbs, by nature, tell people what to do, which is exactly what is needed for instruction writing.

List of imperative verbs

It can sometimes be tricky to come up with the most useful imperative verbs for a specific set of instructions. That’s why we’ve made a list of imperative verbs for your child writer to reference that they can use in their own instruction writing! This list includes a variety of imperative verbs that can be useful in many different types of instructions.

1. Set
2. Pick
3. Measure
4. Hold
5. Open
6. Use
7. Wash
8. Move
9. Turn
10. Put
11. Go
12. Slice
13. Place
14. Order
15. Add
16. Stand
17. Pour
18. Explain
19. Cut
20. Get

Activity & resource

Now that your child is familiar with what imperative verbs are and why they are useful in instruction writing, we have some resources for them to try out! These are great starting activities for your child writer to further their understanding of imperative verbs. Good luck!