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The imperative mood is the mood of intention. It is the mood furthest removed from certainty. Ontologically, as one of the potential or oblique moods, the imperative moves into the realm of volition (involving the imposition of one's will upon another) and possibility.
- Command
The imperative is most commonly used for commands, outnumbering prohibitive imperatives about five to one. The basic force of the imperative of command involves somewhat different nuances with each tense. With the aorist, the force generally is to command the action as a whole, without focussing on duration, repetition, etc. In keeping with its aspectual force, the aorist puts forth a summary command. With the present, the force generally is to command the action as an ongoing process. This is in keeping with the present's aspect, which portrays an internal perspective.
- Mark 2:14 Follow me!
- Mark 6:37 Give them [something] to eat.
- Prohibition
The imperative is commonly used to forbid an action. It is simply a negative command me (or a cognate) is used before the imperative to turn the command into a prohibition.
- Matt 6:3 Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
- Request (Entreaty, Polite Command)
The imperative is often used to express a request. This is normally seen when the speaker is addressing a superior. Imperatives (almost always in the aorist tense) directed toward God in prayers fit this category. The request can be a positive one or a negative one (please, do not ...); in such cases the particle me precedes the verb.
- Matt 6:10-11 Let your kingdom come, let your will be done ... give us today our daily bread.
- Luke 11:1 Lord, teach us [how] to pray
- Permissive Imperative (Imperative of Toleration)
The imperative is rarely used to connote permission or, better, toleration. This usage does not normally imply that some deed is optional or approved. It often views that act as a fait accompli. In such instances, the mood could almost be called "an imperative of resignation."'
- Matt 8:31-32 "If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine." And he said to them, " Go!"
- 1Cor 7:15 If the unbeliever departs, let him depart
- As a Stereotyped Greeting
Sometimes the imperative is used in a stereotyped manner in which it has suppressed its original injunctive force. The imperative is reduced to an exclamation. This occurs especially in greetings.
- Luke 1:28 Greetings, favored [lady]! The Lord is with you.
- John 19:3 Hail, king of the Jews!
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