Imperative Mood in Czech

Overview

The imperative mood is used for commands, requests, invitations, and wishes. At the CEFR B1 level, learning Czech imperatives allows fuller participation in everyday interactions — from ordering food to giving directions.

Czech imperatives are formed from the present tense stem and exist in three persons: second person singular (ty), first person plural (my — "let's"), and second person plural/formal (vy). Polite requests use prosím or the conditional mood. Negative imperatives add ne- to the verb.

The imperative also interacts with verbal aspect: perfective imperatives suggest completing an action, imperfective ones suggest ongoing or repeated actions.

How It Works

Formation from Third Person Plural

1. Take the oni present form and remove the ending
2. Apply endings based on the stem-final sound:

Stem ends in...	ty	my	vy
Single consonant	-Ø or -i	-me/-eme	-te/-ete
Consonant cluster	-i	-eme	-ete
Vowel	-j	-jme	-jte

Common Imperative Forms

Infinitive	ty	my	vy
psát (write)	piš!	pišme!	pište!
mluvit (speak)	mluv!	mluvme!	mluvte!
dělat (do)	dělej!	dělejme!	dělejte!
jíst (eat)	jez!	jezme!	jezte!
jít (go)	jdi!	jděme!	jděte!
být (be)	buď!	buďme!	buďte!
říct (say)	řekni!	řekněme!	řekněte!

Politeness Strategies

Strategy	Example	Translation
+ prosím	Posaďte se, prosím.	Please sit down.
Conditional	Mohl bys mi pomoct?	Could you help me?
Question	Podáš mi sůl?	Will you pass the salt?

Aspect in Imperatives

The choice between perfective and imperfective imperative carries meaning:

Aspect	Use	Example	Translation
Perfective	single completed action	Napiš dopis!	Write (and finish) the letter!
Imperfective	ongoing/repeated action	Piš mi každý den!	Write to me every day!
Perfective	specific instruction	Otevři okno!	Open the window!
Imperfective	general advice	Cvič pravidelně!	Exercise regularly!

In negative commands, Czech often prefers the imperfective: Neotevírej okno! (Don't open the window!) rather than the perfective Neotevři okno! — the imperfective sounds more natural as a prohibition.

Irregular Imperative Forms

Several high-frequency verbs have unpredictable imperative forms:

Infinitive	Imperative (ty)	Note
jíst	jez!	stem change
vzít	vezmi!	suppletive
vidět	viz! (literary) / podívej se!	viz = literary
říct	řekni!	stem change
stát se	staň se!	stem change

Examples in Context

Czech	English	Note
Piš!	Write!	informal singular
Prosím, mluv pomaleji.	Please speak more slowly.	softened
Pojďme!	Let's go!	first person plural
Posaďte se, prosím.	Please sit down.	formal
Neběž tak rychle!	Don't run so fast!	negative
Buď opatrný!	Be careful!	být imperative
Řekni mi pravdu.	Tell me the truth.	říct imperative
Počkejte chvilku.	Wait a moment.	formal/plural
Neboj se!	Don't be afraid!	reflexive
Podívej se na to.	Look at this.	reflexive

Common Mistakes

Using infinitive as command

• Wrong: Psát! (to one person)
• Right: Piš!
• Why: Czech does not use the bare infinitive as a command the way some other Slavic languages do.

Wrong aspect for repeated commands

• Wrong: Napiš mi každý den! (perfective for "every day")
• Right: Piš mi každý den!
• Why: Perfective implies single completion. Habitual commands need imperfective.

Too direct for formal contexts

• Wrong: Dej mi to! (to a stranger)
• Right: Mohl byste mi to dát, prosím?
• Why: Direct imperatives can sound rude. Use conditional or prosím for politeness.

Usage Notes

In colloquial Czech, imperatives are used freely among friends. Pojď/pojďme is especially common. Formal Czech often replaces imperatives with conditional constructions or impersonal Je třeba... (It is necessary to...).

Practice Tips

• Form imperatives from ten common verbs by starting with the oni form and applying the rules.
• Role-play giving directions: Jděte rovně, pak zabočte doleva.
• Practice polite alternatives for the same request: imperative + prosím vs. conditional.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Conjugation (-ám/-áš) — builds the foundation for imperative mood