Commands and the subjunctive
Telling someone what to do, બેસ, બેસો, બેસજો and ત્યાં ન જાઓ, and asking or suggesting with હું અંદર આવું? and ચાલો, જઈએ.
Learn
Commands and the subjunctive, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Tell a friend what to do with the bare stem
The stem alone is a command to તું: લખ write, આવ come, બેસ sit, જા go, ખા eat.
Tell an adult or a group what to do with -ો
Add -ો for તમે and આપ: લખો, આવો, બેસો, જાઓ, ખાઓ. Instructions on a page use it too: સાચો જવાબ પસંદ કરો choose the right answer.
Make a request gentler, or for later, with -જે and -જો
-જે (to a friend) and -જો (to an adult) ask kindly, often for later: ઘરે પહોંચીને ફોન કરજે ring me when you get home. આવજો, goodbye, is this form of come: please come again.
Say don't with ન or નહીં
ન goes before the command: ત્યાં ન જા, ત્યાં ન જાઓ don't go there. A polite don't uses the future: મોડું કરશો નહીં please don't be late. Signs use the infinitive: અહીં કચરો નાખવો નહીં don't drop litter here.
Ask, offer and suggest with the subjunctive
The present without its helper asks or suggests: હું અંદર આવું? may I come in? હું તમારી મદદ કરું? shall I help you? ચાલો, આપણે જઈએ let's go.
Say what someone wants to happen with કે and the subjunctive
મમ્મી ઇચ્છે છે કે હું ડૉક્ટર બનું Mum wants me to become a doctor. કદાચ perhaps also takes it: કદાચ તે આવે perhaps he will come.
Say please with કૃપા કરીને or જરા
કૃપા કરીને બારણું બંધ કરો please close the door. જરા softens a request in everyday speech: જરા પાણી આપો could you give me some water?
Commands and the subjunctive key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Imperative
- The form for telling someone what to do: લખ, લખો.
- Subjunctive
- The form for asking, suggesting and wishing, the present without its helper: હું આવું?, ચાલો જઈએ.
- Polite imperative
- The -જે and -જો forms, for a kind request or one for later: ફોન કરજો.
- Negative command
- Telling someone not to do something, with ન or નહીં: ન જાઓ, જશો નહીં.
- ચાલો
- Let's, or come on: ચાલો, રમીએ let's play.
- કૃપા કરીને
- Please, in a polite request or a formal notice.
Common mistakes in Commands and the subjunctive
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Speaking to a teacher with the bare stem, as in કૃપા કરીને બેસ.
An adult, or anyone you call તમે, needs the -ો form: કૃપા કરીને બેસો.
Adding છો to a command, as in બેસો છો.
બેસો છો means you sit. The command is બેસો on its own.
Asking may I come in? as હું અંદર આવું છું?.
With છું it means am I coming in? To ask permission, leave out the helper: હું અંદર આવું?.
Practice
Try a Commands and the subjunctive question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Complete the sentence: મમ્મી ઇચ્છે છે કે હું ડૉક્ટર ___.
- બનું
- બનું છું
- બન્યો
- બનતો
Show the answer and the working
Answer: બનું
After ઇચ્છે છે કે, wants that, Gujarati uses the present without its helper: મમ્મી ઇચ્છે છે કે હું ડૉક્ટર બનું, mum wants me to become a doctor.
- ઇચ્છે છે કે means wants that.
- What follows a wish takes the present without its helper.
- So બનું: mum wants me to become a doctor.