Using te form at the end of sentences


So just to confirm what I've learned, using te form at the end of a sentence
is like a command or request, right? (without ください). I've seen what others
have asked, but I'm just looking for some confirmation.

For example, 食べて is like a command/request to eat while 食べる is the act of
eating. Like, you can't say 食べる to someone, right?

Continuting on, is it the same thing with で? For example, 動かないで would mean
stop as in like a command/request, but 動かない would just not be? Like, could you
say 動かない to someone?




> 食べて is like a command/request to eat

Correct. It's "Eat it" said in a casual manner. You can say this to your
friend or family member, but it's impolite to say this to your teacher or
boss. 食べろ would sound oppressive and is rarely used in day-to-day speech.

> Like, you can't say 食べる to someone

Actually, we have "plain-form imperative", too (See: [Plain form as
imperative](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/15816/5010)). But this is
relatively uncommon, so you can revisit this after getting used to the te-form
as a request.

In addition, if said with a rising intonation, "食べる?" means "(Wanna) eat it?"

> is it the same thing with で? For example, 動かないで would mean stop as in like a
> command/request, but 動かない would just not be?

Correct. 動かないで is the negative version of 動いて. But again, the negative-plain-
form imperative exists, too, so "動かない!" is one of the possible ways of saying
"Don't move!". See the last part of the link above.

