Imperative Voice — Write the Verb First

The model reads the verb first

The single highest-leverage trick in instruction writing is moving the action verb to the front of the sentence and using imperative mood. "Summarize the article" beats "It would be great if you could provide a summary of the article." The first version is unambiguous; the second wraps the action in three layers of politeness, each of which the model has to peel back.

Politeness in prompts is not bad — it's neutral, occasionally even helpful for tone — but it should not be load-bearing. If your instruction is the sentence "please consider summarizing if you have time," you have not given an instruction; you have given a suggestion the model is free to ignore.

Imperative checklist

Verb is in the first three words.
Voice is active, not passive.
Subject is implied ("you") rather than stated.
One verb per sentence; if you need more, use a list.

The exception

Constitutive prompts (system layer) often start with "You are…" — a stative construction, not an imperative. That's correct: a constitutive sentence sets the stage; the imperatives come after.

Code

Polite vs imperative·markdown

# Polite, ambiguous
If you wouldn't mind, please try to think about the customer's intent and maybe respond in a way that addresses their concerns.

# Imperative, clear
Identify the customer's intent.
Respond with two short paragraphs that name the intent and propose the next step.

Imperative Voice — Write the Verb First

The model reads the verb first

Imperative checklist

The exception

Code

External links

Exercise

Progress

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