The imperative is the form for telling someone to do something: take!, look!, come! In Maltese it is the present tense of , you, without its : , you look, , look! · , you put, , put! · , you open, , open! The vowel after the stays: , , read! · , , sit!
To several people, take the present of and drop its in the same way, so the imperative ends in -u: , you look, · , After a vowel the -u is a -w: , , look! · , , wait!
| Present | Imperative | To several | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drop the t- | |||
| look | |||
| look | |||
| put | |||
| put | |||
| open | |||
| open | |||
| read | |||
| read | |||
| listen | |||
| listen | |||
| sit, stay | |||
| sit, stay | |||
| wait | |||
| wait | |||
| give | |||
| give | |||
| look, see | |||
| look, see | |||
| Learn these as they are | |||
| come | |||
| come | |||
| take | |||
| take | |||
| eat | |||
| eat | |||
drops its i as well. and change a little in the plural, as their present does: , · , . looks nothing like ; learn it as it is, like and .
An imperative is not rude in Maltese. With , please, it is the normal way to ask: Come here, please. on its own is sit down: Please, take a seat.
Poġġi l-qattus lura fil-borża! Malajr!Put the cat back in the bag! Quickly!
Ċikku, ejja hawn, jekk jogħġbok!Ċikku, come here, please!
Ċikku, ejja hawn, jekk jogħġbok!Ċikku, come here, please!
Ħu l-qattus minn hawn!Take the cat out of here!
Agħtini karta, jekk jogħġbok. U pinna.Give me some paper, please. And a pen.
Ella, Ġorġ: oqogħdu hawn u isimgħu!Ella, Ġorġ: sit here and listen!
Practice 1/6 · Finding words
Find the words
Tap the imperatives: the words that tell someone to do something.
! !
Put the cat back in the bag! Quickly!
, , !
Ċikku, come here, please!
, , !
Ċikku, come here, please!
!
Take the cat out of here!
, ! .
Look, Mr Tonio! Ċikku has a present for you.
, ! .
Look, Mr Tonio! Ċikku has a present for you.
, : !
Ella, Ġorġ: eat the cake!
, : !
Ġorġ, Ella: listen!
, !
Open the window, and read the rules! (to several people)
! !
Wait! Ċikku isn't here! (to several people)
Practice 2/6 · The right form
One person or several?
Choose the right word for the gap.
Ella, Ġorġ: ! Il-qattus fuq il-printer!
Ella, Ġorġ: look! The cat is on the printer!
Ġorġ, Ella: l-kejk fuq il-mejda.
Ġorġ, Ella: put the cake on the table.
Ġorġ u Lina: it-tieqa, jekk jogħġbok.
Ġorġ and Lina: open the window, please.
Ħello lil kulħadd! Jekk jogħġbok, ir-regoli.
Hello, everyone! Please read the rules.
Ħello lil kulħadd! Jekk jogħġbok, ir-regoli.
Hello, everyone! Please read the rules.
Ella, Ġorġ: !
Ella, Ġorġ: listen!
Nanna, Ġorġ: bilqiegħda!
Grandma, Ġorġ: sit down!
Ella u Ġorġ, ftit, jekk jogħġbok.
Ella and Ġorġ, wait a moment, please.
Ella, Ġorġ: l-kejk lil Ċikku!
Ella, Ġorġ: give the cake to Ċikku!
Nanna, Ġorġ: ! Ċikku fil-borża!
Grandma, Ġorġ: look! Ċikku is in the bag!
Ella, Ġorġ, ! Il-kejk fuq il-mejda!
Ella, Ġorġ, come! The cake is on the table!
Take, come, eat
Choose the right word for the gap.
l-qattus minn hawn!
Take the cat out of here!
Ċikku, hawn!
Ċikku, come here!
Ċikku, hawn!
Ċikku, come here!
Ella, ! Il-kejk tajjeb.
Ella, eat! The cake is good.
karta, jekk jogħġbok.
Give me some paper, please.
, Sur Tonio!
Look, Mr Tonio!
, Sur Tonio!
Look, Mr Tonio!
Ġorġ, it-trumbetta, jekk jogħġbok!
Ġorġ, put the trumpet down, please!
il-bieb, jekk jogħġbok.
Open the door, please.
! Din kanzunetta ġdida.
Listen! This is a new song.
Ella u Ġorġ, ! Hemm ħafna kejk.
Ella and Ġorġ, eat! There's lots of cake.
Ġorġ u Lina, kejk!
Ġorġ and Lina, have some cake!
Practice 3/6 · Fill the gaps
A busy morning
Fill the gaps with the words from the box.
hawn, jekk jogħġbok. : din l-iskrivanija tiegħek.
Come here, please. Look: this is your desk.
l-kunjom tiegħek, ittra b'ittra.
Give me your surname, letter by letter.
l-karta u l-pinna, u r-regoli.
Take the paper and the pen, and read the rules.
ftit... l-qattus lura fil-borża!
Wait a moment... put the cat back in the bag!
Ella, Ġorġ: hawn u .
Ella, Ġorġ: sit here and listen.
Ella, Ġorġ: hawn u .
Ella, Ġorġ: sit here and listen.
Practice 4/6 · Building sentences
Put the words in order
Put the words in order.
Put the cat back in the bag!
Ċikku, come here, please!
Ċikku, come here, please!
Take the cat out of here, quickly!
Give me some paper and a pen, please.
Ella, Ġorġ, look: Ċikku is on the printer!
Open the door, please: Ċikku wants to go out. (to several people)
Ella, Ġorġ: give the mouse back to Tonio!
Come, eat the cake and have your tea. (to several people)
Wait a moment, and look! (to several people)
Sit here and listen. (to several people)
Practice 5/6 · In situations
The right words
Choose the right words for the situation.
Ċikku is behind the printer. Ask him nicely to come here.
You say:
Ejja to one, ejjew to several; jiġi is he comes.
Ċikku is behind the printer. Ask him nicely to come here.
You say:
Ejja to one, ejjew to several; jiġi is he comes.
Tonio wants some paper and a pen from you.
Tonio says:
Ella and Ġorġ are at your door. Ask them to come in.
You say:
Ella and Ġorġ are at your door. Ask them to come in.
You say:
Lina puts two plates of cake in front of Ella and Ġorġ.
Lina says:
Ċikku has brought Tonio a present. Tell Tonio to look.
You say:
Ċikku has brought Tonio a present. Tell Tonio to look.
You say:
Marija wants Ella and Ġorġ to put their cups on the table.
Marija says:
Tonio wants you to wait a moment.
Tonio says:
Practice 6/6 · Matching
Do it!
Match the pairs.
Unit complete
