Аннотация:The imperative is considered in the paper, and the related categories of the jussive and the directive. The imperative is especially advantageous for advertising, 1) because grammatical structures are normally perceived unconsciously, and 2) because of the centuries of its use as a vehicle for commanding, requesting, ordering, offering, exhorting, entreating, admonishing, prohibiting, warning and other verbal processes of a similar kind (intonation and the semantics of the verb play a role in creating the concrete meaning in each particular instance). Philosophy of language states that the need to issue requests and commands might be as basic as the need to communicate information (animal signalling systems may often be interpreted either way), and stresses the relationship between commands and other action-guiding uses of language, such as ethical discourse. Modern advertising exploits this potential of the imperative.
Key words: imperative, jussive, directive, advertising.