Understanding short instructions

Kurze Anweisungen verstehen

Understand common instructions at work and in daily life, and distinguish formal Sie commands from informal du commands.

German instructions can be very short. A formal command uses the infinitive-like verb first, then Sie: Warten Sie bitte. An informal command to one familiar person uses a special du form without du: Komm bitte hierher. Separable prefixes stay at the end: Pass bitte auf.

First identify the relationship. Use verb + Sie for a customer, stranger or formal workplace contact; use the short du command with someone you address as du.

You will hear short instructions in warehouses, offices, clinics and public services. Recognizing the opening verb lets you react quickly.

Do not mix the two forms. “Wartet Sie” is wrong; formal Sie requires “Warten Sie.”

Formal: Warten Sie. Informal: Warte. Separable informal command: Pass … auf.

Give two formal instructions and two informal instructions, including one separable verb.