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32.4.2 Imperative with -e

In certain cases the imperative in the second person has an -e for the very simple reason that otherwise the word would be very hard to pronounce. This is the case when the root ends on an more than one consonant + m or n.

Some examples
Infinitive	root	imperative second singular	imperative first plural	imperative second plural	imperative formal singular	imperative formal plural
rechnen	rechn-	rechne	rechnen wir	rechnet	rechnen Sie	rechnen Sie
		calculate	let us calculate	calculate	calculate	calculate
atmen	atm-	atme	atmen wir	atmet	atmen Sie	atmen Sie
		breathe	let us breathe	breathe	breathe	breathe

You surely understand that without this -e this imperative would be hard to pronounce.

Try to say:

difficult: rechn, atm

easy: rechne, atme

To make clear why we said when the verb is ending on an m or n after another more than one consonant we show some other examples. These are easy to pronounce even without this -e.

Examples
Infinitive	root	imperative second singular	imperative first plural	imperative second plural	imperative formal singular	imperative formal plural
sich kämmen	kämm-	kämm dich	kämmen wir uns	kämmt euch	Kämmen Sie sich	Kämmen Sie sich
		brush your hair	let us brush our hair	brush your hair	brush your hair	brush your hair
lernen	lern-	lern	lernen wir	lernt	Lernen Sie	Lernen Sie
		study	let us study	study	study	study

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