Unit 1 : Giving Command Expression
No KD
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Activity
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Text/ Presentation
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Picture
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Video
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Test/Quiz/Task
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Syllabus/
Calendar
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Link:
URL
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Glossary
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Instructional
Method
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1
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Telling and giving a command or also known
as the imperative form.
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Presentation
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When someone give a command to other people
in polite words.
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The imperative form
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Task
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One week
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Ensure you gain attention first, for example by using their name.
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Use simple sentences and short phrases.
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Say exactly
what you want the person to do.
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Speak louder.
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Speak slower.
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Add emphasis to key words.
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Align
your body, perhaps using power body language.
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Lower the tone
of the whole sentence, particularly at the end.
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Cooperative learning (think
- pair - share)
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Commands and instructions
Giving commands
We often use an
imperative in commands, and we also use must. They both sound very direct:
[in class]
Stop talking
now!
[a father to his child]
Don’t press
that button.
[a mother to a child]
You must wear
a coat. It’s raining.
There are a number of ways of making commands sound
more polite. We can add please at
the end of what we say, or we can use a question form to make a command sound
more like a request, or we can use I’d like you to + infinitive or I’d be
grateful if you’d + infinitive without to:
[a boss to an assistant]
Ask Max to sign this form and then send it off
immediately please,
Gwyn.
Will you bring
us the files on the Hanley case please, Maria?
I’d like you to bring us four coffees at eleven when we take a break
in the meeting.
I’d be grateful if you didn’t tell anyone about this.
Public notices
Public notices often give direct commands using no, do not or must:
Giving instructions
We use instructions
to tell someone how to do something. We usually use imperatives. They do not
sound too direct in this context:
[a cookery class]
Beat four
eggs, like this. Then add the
flour gradually. Don’t
beat the eggs too much though.
[instructions on how to replace a missing button]
Thread your
needle with a piece of thread about 25 cm long. Mark the spot where you want the
button. Insert the
needle from the back of the fabric and bring it through …
Spoken
English:
In speaking, we often use the present simple when we
are giving instructions and demonstrations, and we say like so meaning
‘like this’:
You fold the
A4 piece of paper like
so. Then you
glue some shapes onto this side and sprinkle some glitter on it like so.
See also:
Commands
Also known as the imperative form, commands are very easy
to use. Begin the sentence with a verb and end with an object, a person or a
thing.
Tell someone to do
something:
 * Answer the phone, please. * Drive to the post office. * Help me find this information.
The subject in each
of these sentences is "you," but it doesn't sound correct to use
the subject.
* You answer the phone,
please.
* You drive to the post
office.
* You help me.
Tell someone not to
do something:
* Don't do that. (The
subject is "you.")
* Don't hit him.
* Don't drive a car without
a seat belt.
In each sentence
above, the present tense is used and the subject is "you.
The polite form of
a command uses the word "please."
* Please give
that to me.
* Pass the potatoes, please.
(Use the word "pass" when you sit at a table with other people and
eat food.)
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Method
Gain compliance to your
commands by using a number of methods:
·
Ensure you gain attention first, for example by using their name.
·
Use simple
sentences and short phrases.
·
Say exactly what you want the person to do.
·
Speak louder.
·
Speak slower.
·
Add emphasis to
key words.
·
Align your body,
perhaps using power body
language.
·
Lower the tone of the whole sentence, particularly at the end.
You need not use all of
these methods at once and should always use them appropriately, given the
situation. The more stress you add to the other person, the more likely you
are to trigger dysfunctional coping
mechanisms.
When you are unable to
give commands, you can phrase the request for action as questions, but
still use the above methods. Depending on the intonation, body language,
etc. this may be a subtle nudge or can appear as a veiled threat.
Go to bed. (simple
command)
Go upstairs and get into
bed. (compound command)
Jeff, are you going to go
to bed? (hidden command)
A command is a sentence that
is intended to achieve compliance in others, getting them to act in a certain
way.
Speaking louder and slower
and using emphasis creates contrast with
surrounding words and hence causes further attention.
The intonation of a
command is usually fairly flat, with the pitch at the end usually declining
slightly to add further emphasis.
A lower overall pitch makes
a voice sound more 'masculine' and triggers primitive responses (a lower
voice can be an indicator of greater levels of testosterone). Margaret
Thatcher, the UK Prime Minister in the 1980s, learned to lower her voice in
order to be more commanding.
Using the volume, speed,
pitch, etc. of a command, but using the form of a question causes cognitive
dissonance which may lead to the person accepting the command, but
not feeling able to challenge it as the verbal form is an innocuous question.
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