Mike's New Car (Dubbed)

Special thanks to Declan Nicholls who dubbed the voices in this Pixar video for the comedy film, Monster's Inc.

In this English tip, we will learn about imperatives.

Imperatives tell someone what to do. They're often a command given by someone in authority, like the character Mike in this Pixar clip. Mike takes Sulley to see his new car. The car has features (like the automatic seat adjustment) that Sulley experiments with and figures out how to operate. Mike has trouble operating the seat belt, which results in a funny problem. Let's look closely at the dialogue.

Imperatives

• No peeking.

This one means Sulley should keep his eyes closed and not look until instructed.

• Come on. Get in, get in.

Say "come on" when you want someone to follow your lead. Follow this by telling what to do next.

The next example combines a question with an imperative for stronger emphasis when Mike says:

• Will you cut it out?!

Mike is actually demanding that Sulley stop what he is doing. It has more emphsis as a question and the voice is usually louder.

• Don't just sit there, push the button.

This is another way to say, "hurry up and do something," and is often followed by a specific instruction like "push the button."

• Don't touch anything. I'll do it.

Finally, Mike wants something to work right and he tells Sulley to what NOT to do.

Vocabulary 
Panther: a panther is a large, strong lion. Mike compares his car to a panther, meaning that it has a powerful engine.
Adjustable: when you can change the position of something, like a car seat.

Think about a difficult situation when you've been frustrated. Did you tell someone what to do? What did you say? List the imperatives you gave to someone else telling them what to do. Seeing Mike's frustration is funny and his imperatives make us laugh because we've all been frustrated before.