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English Grammar Imperatives and Vocatives by Eugene R. Moutoux |
| The imperative mood is used to
express a command, a request, or a suggestion. The subject of an
imperative sentence is usually an unexpressed you. Here are some
sentences with verbs in the imperative mood (the imperatives are
underlined): Answer! Be still! Do come to the
party on Saturday! Tell that to the teacher. Use time
judiciously. You go first! An exclamation point is used at the
end of some imperative sentences to convey a sense of urgency or powerful
emotion.
* * * * * A vocative is a noun (whether a name or not) or the pronoun you used in direct address. Vocatives are independent expressions, which means that they are not connected grammatically to the rest of the sentence. Here are some sentences with vocatives (the vocatives are underlined): Mr. Abramson, come to Room 214 immediately. What would you do, children, if the lights went out? You, I need your help. - from the teacher's enlarged edition of my book Diagramming Step by Step: One Hundred and Fifty-one Steps to Diagramming Excellence |
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