Here and now

The speaker who uses the present imperative sees a connection between the existing situation (as he sees it!) and the action ordered. This means that, on account of the situation, he wants somebody to start performing an action at once. But we should always remember that this “at once” is not, or need not be identical with the “now” of objective reality, but is determined only by the subjective “here and now” the speaker has in mind. In this “here and now” the existing situation and the action ordered coincide. So it might be said that from this point of view (the “here and now”) the speaker views the action ordered in its perspective as part of living reality.—The Greek Imperative, page 65