Stand up! Sit down! (imperatives)

The grammar of the classroom itself: commands need no subject, no ending, no age — a three-year-old obeys English before speaking it.

From age 3Cambridge level: Pre-A1 Starters

Age: Ages 3–11
Level: Pre-A1
Skill: Grammar
Format: Teacher guide

The pattern

Saying it: Stand up! Open your book.
Saying no: Don't run! Don't touch.
Asking: Can you jump? (softened)
Short answer: Please sit down.

Printable worksheet Presentation (PPT)

Sentences a child can say

Tap any sentence to hear it. Every one uses words from a topic pack you already have.

Mini exercise: choose the right word

Five sentences from this page, each with a word missing. A child taps the word that fits and, once it is right, hears the whole sentence.

blank down, please.
blank your book.
blank three times!
blank run!
blank!

What you will actually hear

The mistakes that come up in every class, and what is behind each one, with a tag on those a first language makes typical.

You stand up!Stand up!

The imperative's magic is the missing you — adding it back turns a command into an accusation.

No run!Don't run!

English negates commands with don't, not no. 'No + noun' survives (no phones!), but verbs need don't.

Typical for Arabic speakers

Open the light, please.Turn on the light, please.

Arabic «⁧افتح النور⁩» and «⁧أغلق النور⁩» (open and close the light) come straight over. English turns lights, the TV and the tap on and off: Turn on the light, turn off the TV.

How to teach it

1
This is Total Physical Response country: say it, do it, and the class copies. Meaning arrives through muscles, no translation needed.
2
Play Simon Says the moment five commands are known — it turns don't-listening into the whole point of a game.
3
Give the commands away: each week one child is the teacher and orders the class about. Saying commands is the real production goal.