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A1-43 · Give friendly instructions

Visiting friends

Use the du and ihr imperatives to welcome guests and offer food and drink.

About 5 minutes to read · 12 quiz questions

A host opens an apartment door and invites one friend inside.

01

Welcome one friend

For one friend, use the du imperative without du: Komm rein! Setz dich! Many forms use the verb stem: kommen → komm, machen → mach.

Komm rein!

Come in, one friend!

Setz dich bitte!

Please sit down!

Mach die Tür zu!

Close the door, one friend!

Warte bitte hier!

Please wait here, one friend!

Komm rein means come in. Setz dich means sit down. Bitte can soften a friendly instruction.

A host offers a guest cake, bread and a cup of tea at a kitchen table.

02

Offer something to eat

Some du forms change the vowel: nehmen → nimm, essen → iss. Trinken gives trink. Use a small offer such as Nimm ein Stück Kuchen!

Nimm ein Stück Kuchen!

Have a piece of cake, one friend!

Iss etwas Brot!

Eat some bread, one friend!

Trink einen Tee!

Have a tea, one friend!

Sei bitte vorsichtig!

Please be careful, one friend!

Das Stück means piece and der Kuchen cake. These are offers to one guest; the pronoun du is normally omitted.

Two guests enter a living room while a host points to chairs around a table.

03

Welcome several friends

For several friends, use the ihr verb form without ihr: Kommt rein! Nehmt Platz! Esst etwas! The reflexive pronoun changes too: Setzt euch!

Kommt rein!

Come in, everyone!

Nehmt Platz!

Take a seat, everyone!

Setzt euch bitte!

Please sit down, everyone!

Esst etwas!

Eat something, everyone!

Compare Nimm for one person with Nehmt for several. Polite Sie instructions still keep Sie: Nehmen Sie Platz.

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