English and Arabic show striking differences in how they morphologically realize imperative verbs, reflecting their distinct typological characteristics.

English Imperative Morphology:English imperatives are morphologically minimal, typically using the bare verb stem with no inflectional marking:

• "Go!" "Eat!" "Listen!"
• The imperative form is identical to the infinitive stem
• No person, number, or gender marking on the verb itself
• Politeness or emphasis is achieved through separate words ("please") or intonation

Arabic Imperative Morphology:Arabic imperatives show rich morphological complexity with systematic inflection for person, number, and gender:

Person/Number/Gender Agreement:

• Masculine singular: uktub "write!" (to one male)
• Feminine singular: uktubī "write!" (to one female)
• Masculine plural: uktubū "write!" (to multiple males)
• Feminine plural: uktubna "write!" (to multiple females)

Root-and-Pattern System:Arabic imperatives are formed through the templatic morphology characteristic of Semitic languages, where consonantal roots are inserted into vocalic patterns rather than through linear affixation.

Morphological Processes:

• Deletion of imperfective prefixes (ta-ktub → uktub)
• Vowel adjustments and epenthesis for syllable structure
• Integration with the trilateral root system

Key Contrasts:

These differences reflect broader typological distinctions between the languages' morphological systems.

In English, imperative verbs are morphologically simple, typically identical to the base form without affixation (e.g., “Go!”), whereas in Arabic, imperatives are marked through specific verbal patterns with prefixes, suffixes, or stem changes depending on person, number, and gender (e.g., اكتبْ ‘write’).

Although talk about morphology in English and Arabic is traditionally marked by concatenative and non-concatenative, repectively, when it comes to the imperative in both languages the difference is not as complex. As pointed out by Dr. Jean Gotopo, English imperative consists in removing "to" from the infinitive, and this across gender, number, and person. Arabic infinitive comes in two parts. With the tilateral template (الأفعال الثلاثية), a vowel prefix (?i) is introduced as in اسمع (isma3: listen) from سمع. With the other verbal templates, i.e. الأفعال المزيدة (augmented templates), the initial consonant keeps the ?i vowel, with the last consonant receiving different vowel endings depending on gender, person, and number as in استخرج (?istaxrij) addressed to a second person, masculine from verb استخرج (istaxraja). To a feminine addressee, this will be استخرجي (istaxriji), etc.. I hope this can be helpful.