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.
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
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