Using te form at the end of sentences

Question

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?

Answer 1

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). 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.