TopolearnOperator + motion is the grammar of Vim; once it clicks you can combine every verb with every motion.
Vim commands form a little language: operator + motion. The operator is the verb, the motion says how much text.
ddeletes,cchanges (deletes, then enters Insert mode),yyanks (copies).>and<indent and dedent,gu/gUlowercase/uppercase,=re-indents.
Combine them with any motion: dw deletes to the next word, d$ to end of line, dG to end of file, y} yanks a paragraph, c3w changes three words. Doubling the operator acts on the whole line: dd, yy, cc, >>. A count applies too: 3dd deletes three lines.
Some shortcuts are so common they get their own key: x = dl (delete character), D = d$, C = c$, Y = yy (in Vim; Neovim maps it to y$).
Deleted and yanked text goes into a register, and you put it back with p (after the cursor, or below the line for linewise text) or P (before). So dd then p moves a line down; xp swaps two characters; ddkP moves a line up.
Note that cw is special: on a word it behaves like ce and keeps the trailing space. Also, deleting with d overwrites what you yanked earlier, which surprises everyone once; the registers lesson shows how to get it back.
Example
dw " delete to start of next word
d$ " delete to end of line (same as D)
c2w " change two words, then type the replacement
yy " yank (copy) the current line
p " put it below the current line
3dd " delete three lines
>> " indent the line
gUw " uppercase to end of word
ddp " swap the current line with the one belowRemember
- Grammar: [count] operator motion, e.g. 2dw or d2w
- Doubled operator = whole line: dd, yy, cc, >>
- p puts after/below, P puts before/above
Watch out for
- Expecting p to paste what you yanked after you deleted something else; d overwrites the unnamed register.