Recipes (Imperatives)

This lesson focuses on giving instructions, particularly in cooking.  The form of the verbs we use to give instructions is called the imperative.  The imperative form of a verb is simply the base of the verb (without ‘to’).  The subject is understood to always be ‘you’, so it’s not necessary to say the subject.

These are imperative sentences:
Close the door.
Don’t talk so loud.
Take out the trash.
Come in.
Don’t forget.
Open the bag.

In this lesson, we will focus on using the imperatives to give instructions.  In particular, we’ll look at following and giving recipes.

To give instructions, we need to make sure that the sequence is clear, so we can use words to help us, like first, second, next, after that, then, finally, etc...
Example: To cook indomie:
First, boil some water in a medium sauce pan.
Next, add the noodles to the boiling water.
Cook for 5 minutes or until the noodles are soft.
Add the seasoning and stir well.
Finally, serve hot in a bowl.

Notes: Review countables and uncountables with this lesson. 
For example:  Add a cup of onions. Stir the milk into the egg mix. Chop some celery and green onion.
To make imperatives sound more polite, simply add ‘please’.
Examples: Please close the door. Please have this done tonight.