The
imperative mood, whose name derives from the
Latin word for
I order, refers to sentences whose intent is to instruct the reader or listener to perform a given action. Examples:
'
Shut the door, Alec; there's a draught!' (actually, only the first clause there is imperative.)
Duck!
Consider yourself at home.
As ever with moods, the mood is conveyed by a combination of the
verb form employed and the structure of the sentence. Compare
indicative mood and
subjunctive mood.