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Imperative (Tryb rozkazujący)

Imperative is used for commands and requests. For positive commands, you can use either perfective or imperfective verbs. For negative commands, you can use only imperfective verbs.

The imperative for imperfective verbs is based on the stem of the verb from the Present Tense singular third person

Examples

Present tense, singular, third person	Imperative, singular, second person	English
pisze	pisz!	write!
kupuje	kupuj!	buy!
czeka	czekaj!	wait!

The imperative for perfective verbs is based on the stem of the verb from the Future Tense Simple singular third person.

Examples

Future tense simple, singular, third person	Imperative, singular, second person	English
napisze	napisz!	write!
kupi	kup!	buy!
zaczeka	zaczekaj!	wait!

Perfective vs imperfective verbs

Which verb aspect should you use for creating the positive commands? It depends on what you want to say. Imperfective verbs are for ongoing, continuous activities. Perfective verbs are for one time, finished activities. The example below presents the difference between pisz! and napisz!

pisz!	"be writing!" - we ask someone to start or continue writing. We are mostly interested in the act of actual writing and that's what we are asking for.
napisz!	"have it written!" - we ask someone to write something down. We are not interested in the act of writing, but the actual results. We want that person to have something written.

Below both imperatives put in a real-life context:

Nad czym się zastanawiasz? Pisz!	What are you wondering about? Write!
Proszę, napisz co o tym myślisz.	Please, write what you think about it.

Remember!

Negative commands shouldn't use the perfective verbs. Thus this example is incorrect:

~~Nie zrób zadania!~~

Plural number imperatives

To create the imperative forms for plural number add -my or -cie to the second person singular imperative.

Examples

You (singular)	We (plural)	You (plural)
pisz! - write! (you singular)	piszmy! - let's write!	piszcie! - write! (you plural)
kup! - buy! (you singular)	kupmy! - let's buy!	kupcie! - buy! (you plural)
czekaj! - wait! (you singular)	czekajmy! - let's wait!	czekajcie! - wait! (you plural)

This rule stays valid for all the verbs, even if they have irregular stems.

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Getting the stem of the verb

Below you can find rules for obtaining the stem of the verb:

if the third person form ends with an -a then add a -j to it.

Examples

Singular, third person	Imperative, singular, second person	English
czyta	czytaj!	read!
zbiera	zbieraj!	collect!
śpiewa	śpiewaj!	sing!

if the verb inifinitive form ends with -awać, then the imperative form is created from the infinitive by replacing the -ć with -j

Examples

Infinitive	Imperative, singular, second person	English
dawać	dawaj!	give!
wstawać	wstawaj!	stand up!

if the third person form ends with an -e, or a -y simply remove these vowels.

Examples

Singular, third person	Imperative, singular, second person	English
skacze	skacz!	jump!
bierze	bierz!	take!
patrzy	patrz!	look!

if the third person form ends with an -ie or an -i remove these vowels. Additionally, if there was c, s, n, dz or z before the vowels exchange it to ć, ś, ń, dź or ź

Examples

Singular, third person	Imperative, singular, second person	English
kupi	kup!	buy!
kopie	kop!	kick!
idzie	idź!	go!
siedzi	siedź!	sit!
prosi	proś!	ask!
nosi	noś!	carry!
dzwoni	dzwoń!	call!
płaci	płać!	pay!
grozi	gróź!	threaten!

Apart from the above rules, sometimes there are additional irregularities in the stem. The most common one is o ➜ ó exchange.

Examples

Singular, third person	Imperative, singular, second person	English
robi	rób!	do!
tworzy	twórz!	create!
grozi	gróź!	threaten!

Irregular imperative forms

Some verbs have irregular imperative forms.

Examples

Singular, third person	Imperative, singular, second person	English
śpi	śpij!	sleep!
je	jedz!	eat!
powie	powiedz!	say!
zrozumie	zrozum!	understand!
ma	miej!	have!
rośnie	rośnij!	grow!
zostaje	zostań!	stay!
biegnie	biegnij!	run!
stoi	stój!	stop!

Formal imperative forms

To create a formal request use niech, personal pronoun and the third person verb form instead of the imperative one.

Singular formal imperative:

niech + Pan / Pani + the third person singular form

Plural formal imperative:

niech + Panowie / Panie / Państwo + the third person plural form

Examples

Singular	Plural
niech Pan kupi niech Pani kupi	niech Panowie kupią niech Panie kupią niech Państwo kupią
niech Pan zaśpiewa niech Pani zaśpiewa	niech Panowie zaśpiewają niech Panie zaśpiewają niech Państwo zaśpiewają

Tenses (Czasy)

Nouns (Rzeczowniki)

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Cases - Noun Declension

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Imperative (Tryb rozkazujący)

Imperative is used for commands and requests. For positive commands, you can use either perfective or imperfective verbs. For negative commands, you can use only imperfective verbs.

The imperative for imperfective verbs is based on the stem of the verb from the Present Tense singular third person

Examples

Present tense, singular, third person	Imperative, singular, second person	English
pisze	pisz!	write!
kupuje	kupuj!	buy!
czeka	czekaj!	wait!

The imperative for perfective verbs is based on the stem of the verb from the Future Tense Simple singular third person.

Examples

Future tense simple, singular, third person	Imperative, singular, second person	English
napisze	napisz!	write!
kupi	kup!	buy!
zaczeka	zaczekaj!	wait!