Is "don't worry" to be considered standard imperative?

Question

This might sound a little odd, but it's been bugging me for a while now. "Don't worry" is, unless I'm mistaken, the short form of the idiom, but it's still imperative--or is it?

"Don't worry, they won't be able to do anything."

Common usage. Is this actually grammatical? It's common enough, but so is a lot of ungrammatical nonsense.

"Don't worry about any repercussions, they won't be able to do anything."

Now, this is obviously ungrammatical. Yet, the first clause has merely been extended. As imperative clauses are independent, it seems that the former construction should be ungrammatical.

NB: I tend to eschew colloquial English. Specifically, I'm one of those who will say "It is I" rather than "It's me."

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

Sorry, I don't understand what worries you about 'Don't worry'. It is indeed just a standard imperative. You might call it a way of giving emphatic advice.

It's grammatically no different than saying, eg

Don't talk.

Don't fight.

Don't cook.

Best wishes, Clive

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousDon't worry, they won't be able to do anything.

Don't worry. They won't be able to do anything.

AnonymousDon't worry about any repercussions, they won't be able to do anything.

Don't worry about any repercussions. They won't be able to do anything.

Is it the comma splice that is bothering you?

CJ

Anonymous · Answer

Yes, one would think so. Why, then, are sentences like the above so common? Specifically, why is the usage of the comma after "Don't worry" so prevalent? Is there something that motivates the comma splice in the construction?

Kooyeen · Answer

AnonymousWhy, then, are sentences like the above so common? Specifically, why is the usage of the comma after "Don't worry" so prevalent? Is there something that motivates the comma splice in the construction?

Main reason: most people don't know what a comma splice is, and they wouldn't be interested in it anyway.

A comma can basically be a very short pause, a period/full stop is often a longer pause. So. You know. You can't always write this way. Or it would be. Like. Odd?

CalifJim · Answer

AnonymousWhy, then, are sentences like the above so common? Specifically, why is the usage of the comma after "Don't worry" so prevalent? Is there something that motivates the comma splice in the construction?

People tend to string their thoughts together without thinking of proper punctuation when writing informally. That's about the only "motivation" there is to the use of comma splices.

CJ

Mr Wordy · Answer

AnonymousSpecifically, why is the usage of the comma after "Don't worry" so prevalent? Is there something that motivates the comma splice in the construction?

I normally loathe comma splices, but I actually find "Don't worry, they won't be able to do anything" acceptable.

Is "don't worry" to be considered standard imperative?

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