Quenya/Imperative

The Imperative is used to issue a command to somebody or a group of individuals. In Quenya, several kinds of imperative contexts are used for various situations and meanings.

Ancient Imperative
The ancient form of the imperative is only used with primitive verbs.

It is formed by adding -a to the stem without lengthening the stem-vowel (so it is like the present tense but with a short central vowel):
 * tira! "watch!"

This imperative is very direct, so you shouldn't use it when you want to be polite.

Standard Imperative
This is formed by placing the particle á before the infinitive:
 * á tirë! "watch!"


 * á vala! "rule!"

When the central vowel of the infinitive is long, a diphthong or followed by more than one consonant we use the particle a instead of  á (This rule isn't obligatory, so using á is acceptable):


 * a caima! "lie down!"


 * a móta! "work!"


 * a linda! "sing!"

The combinations ry,  ly,  ny,  ty do not count as a double consonant, so when the central vowel is immediately followed by any one of these we use  á: but
 * á lelya! "go!"
 * a mintya! "remember!"

The particle is pronounced as a unit with these infinitives, so the stress is normally on the particle á and not on  a (the exceptions are verbs with an infinitive of more than two syllables).

Negative imperative
A prohibition or negative imperative is formed by the particle áva. It is the same for all verbs:
 * áva lelya! "don't go!"


 * áva tirë! "don't look!"

It can also be used on its own, but then the long vowel is shifted: (note: this is the only two-syllable word that is stressed on the final syllable; see ../Phonology/)
 * avá! "don't!"

Personal pronouns with the imperative
When a verb is in the imperative it can have personal pronouns that refer to the subject, the direct object or the indirect object.

Subject pronouns
A reference to the subject is not very frequent, only when it is absolutely necessary to specify to whom the command is directed: "Listen you!"

The Quenya endings are -t in the singular and  -l in the plural:
 * a lindat! "sing you!" (singular)

With a primitive verb the connecting vowel is -i- as usual:
 * a lindal! "sing you!" (plural)
 * á tirë! "watch!"


 * á tirit! "watch you!"


 * á tiril! "watch you!"

These endings can also be used in the negative imperative:
 * áva tulë! "don't come!"


 * áva tulit! "don't come you!"


 * áva tulil! "don't come you!"

Direct object pronouns
To indicate the direct object we can use the nominative of the independent personal pronouns:
 * a laita te! "bless them!"


 * á tirë nye! "watch me!"

It is however also possible to add this nominative as an ending to the particle á.

This could be used for less emphasis on the direct object so it is not as commanding (in this situation we always use á never  a):
 * átë laita! "bless them!"


 * ányë tirë! "watch me!"

Also with the negative imperative both forms are possible:
 * ávamë tirë! "don't watch us!"


 * áva tirë me! "don't watch us!"

Indirect object pronouns
With an indirect object we obviously use the dative forms of the pronouns:
 * ámen linda! "sing for us!"

When a verb has both a direct and an indirect object, you have the choice which is applied to the particle á or  áva and which is used a separate word:
 * ánin carë ta! "do it for me!"


 * áta carë nin! "do it for me!"

>> Neo-Quenya >> ../Verbs/ >> ../Imperative/