What do adds to an imperative
An ordinary imperative uses the bare base form: Wait here. Adding do can make it warmer, more insistent or more earnest: Do wait here. Do does not change the action being requested; it emphasizes the request or invitation itself.
The effect may be similar to an earnest please, an encouraging go on, or an insistent make sure you do. English can express this emphasis with do alone. In speech, do is stressed; in writing, it is sometimes italicized.
Emphatic do is optional. The imperative is still correct without it; only its tone changes. Use do when there is a reason—for example, the listener is hesitating, refusing or likely to forget, or the speaker wants to sound especially sincere.
Do + base form of the verb, usually with no expressed subject
- subject / S —
- The grammatical subject: who or what the clause is about; the verb agrees with it. In The book was written, the book is the subject, although someone else does the action.
- verb / V —
- A word for an action or state, such as work or be. The pattern determines its form.
- V1 / base form —
- The base verb without to: work, go, be.
Do take some coffee for the road.
Do take some coffee for the road.
In a welcoming situation, do strengthens the invitation.
Do tell me what you think of the draft.
Do tell me what you think of the draft.
This is a sincere request for an opinion, rather than a mere formality.
Do be patient with the new interns.
Do be patient with the new interns.
Insistent but friendly advice.
The form: only do, followed by the base form
Use do in an imperative regardless of how many people you are addressing: Do sit down. Does and did do not fit this construction. In Sarah, do sit down, the name is a direct address, separated by a comma.
Do is followed by the base form: not tells, telling, told or to tell. With be, use Do be…; with have, Do have…; with let, Do let me know. An adjective needs the linking verb be: Do be careful, not Do careful.
Do not transfer does and did from statements and questions into imperatives. Imperatives do not have that present-versus-past tense contrast; do before the base verb adds emphasis.
Do + be / have / let / another verb in the base form
- verb / V —
- A word for an action or state, such as work or be. The pattern determines its form.
- V1 / base form —
- The base verb without to: work, go, be.
Sarah, do sit down — you look exhausted.
Sarah, do sit down — you look exhausted.
Sarah is a direct address, so the imperative uses do, not does.
Do be gentle with the old camera.
Do be gentle with the old camera.
The adjective needs be in the base form.
Do have a go on the new console.
Do have a go on the new console.
After do, use have without an ending.
Three tones: invitation, reminder and irritation
The situation, rather than the form alone, determines the tone of an imperative with do. In a welcoming conversation, Do stay for lunch sounds warm and sincere. In Do remember your passport, do highlights something that is easy to forget. In an irritated Do stop tapping that pen!, the same word shows that patience is running out.
The context, intonation and surrounding words help identify the tone. Giving a reason can make a request easier to understand, but does not by itself guarantee a warm or polite tone.
Persuasion is another use: Oh, do say yes! Here, do suggests that the listener is hesitating and the speaker earnestly wants them to change their mind.
Do stay for lunch; there's far too much food.
Do stay for lunch; there's far too much food.
A warm invitation with a reason.
Do remember to charge your phone before the trip.
Do remember to charge your phone before the trip.
A reminder about something easily forgotten.
Do stop tapping that pen, I can't think!
Do stop tapping that pen, I can't think!
An insistent, irritated appeal. How sharp it sounds depends on intonation and the relationship between the people.
Letters, notices and workplace communication
In a business email, do can make an invitation courteous and emphasize its sincerity: Do reach out if any dates are unclear. In reminders, it can also make a request more forceful.
When a manager writes to an employee, do may sound like pressure. When an employee addresses a manager, Please… or Could you… may be preferable. The relationship between the people matters.
There is no need to add do to every instruction. A recipe usually needs only neutral forms: Add the flour. Stir. Urgent commands are often short: Stop! Get down! There is no fixed limit on how often do can appear in a text; repetition should suit the intended tone.
Do reach out if any of the dates are unclear.
Do reach out if any of the dates are unclear.
A courteous invitation at the end of a business email.
Do read the safety notice before entering the lab.
Do read the safety notice before entering the lab.
A reminder that should not be overlooked.
Add the flour and stir.
Add the flour and stir.
A neutral instruction: emphasis is unnecessary here.
Please do, do please and short replies
Emphatic do can be combined with please: Please do pass the salt. The words play different roles: please marks politeness, while do emphasizes sincerity or insistence. Do please… also occurs, but polite conversational replies more often use Please do…
In a short reply, do can stand in for the action already mentioned: Can I take one of these leaflets? — Please do. There is no need to repeat take because the context supplies the meaning.
Please do expresses agreement or encouragement in a reply. It can still be an emphatic invitation to act, even though the full verb phrase is not repeated.
Please do take a look at the notes.
Please do take a look at the notes.
Please opens the sentence, and do adds emphasis.
Can I take one of these leaflets? — Please do.
Can I take one of these leaflets? — Please do.
Do stands in for take one.
Limits: what imperative do does not do
Do followed by a noun phrase is the main verb, not an emphatic auxiliary: Do your best, Do the dishes. The distinction is straightforward: emphatic do is followed by another verb, while main-verb do is followed by its object.
A negative imperative already contains auxiliary do: Don’t forget. Do not add a second do before it. A negative can be emphasized through stress or the full form: Do not leave bags unattended. The full form is also typical of official notices.
An expressed subject does not automatically rule out an imperative: You stay here! is an imperative too. Compare You do look tired, a statement about a state, and Do you look tired?, a question. Identify the construction using both its form and its communicative purpose.
Do your best, and don't worry about the result.
Do your best, and don't worry about the result.
The first do is the main verb, followed by the object phrase your best.
Don't leave without saying goodbye.
Don't leave without saying goodbye.
Don’t forms an ordinary negative imperative; it is not affirmative emphatic do.
You do look tired.
You do look tired.
This is a statement about the listener’s appearance, not an invitation to do something.
Common mistakes
Incorrect:Does have some tea before you go.
Correct:Do have some tea before you go.
The emphatic form in this imperative construction is do; does is not used here.
Incorrect:Do tells us what you decide.
Correct:Do tell us what you decide.
After do, use the base form of the verb. The -s ending is unnecessary.
Incorrect:Do careful with that vase.
Correct:Do be careful with that vase.
The adjective needs the linking verb be in its base form.
Incorrect:Do being quiet, please.
Correct:Do be quiet, please.
Do is not followed by the -ing form here. Use the base form be.
Incorrect:Did come in, please.
Correct:Do come in, please.
This imperative does not have a past-tense form, so emphatic do does not become did.