An introduction to Japanese - Syntax, Grammar & Language

3.2. FURTHER INFLECTIONS 131

verb imperative

+

+

+

irregular imperative

+

+

nonsense

nonsense

/ nonsense

For verbal adjectives, the idea of an imperative is a bit odd, but that
doesn’t mean we can’t form one. Relying on + for the inflection
again, we can form the imperative command for verbal adjectives. We can
either leave these as is, or contract them. The difference is subtle: uncon-
tracted, this is an adverbial statement, literally akin to an English statement
such as ”Oh come on, be faster!”. The contracted form is considered an
adjectival statement instead, which has no English equivalent and is thus
harder to explain, but is experienced as an adjectival statement, in the same
way that the past tense for adjectives is still an adjectival statement.

adjective imperative form contracted

+

+

+

+

The same goes for the copula, for which we must use (since
/ do not have a commanding form of their own):

copula imperative form

Prohibitive commands

If you want to tell people to not do something, then the form of the com-
mand is much simpler: simply add the particle to the :