Imperative Mood in Russian

Overview

The imperative mood is used to give commands, make requests, offer invitations, and give instructions. At the A1 level, learning imperatives allows you to interact in practical situations -- asking for help, giving directions, and participating in classroom activities. Russian has distinct forms for informal (ты) and formal/plural (вы) imperatives.

Russian imperatives are formed from the present tense stem with the endings -й/-и for singular informal and -йте/-ите for formal/plural. The choice between -й and -и depends on the stem ending and stress pattern. Additionally, the construction давай(те) + infinitive or first person plural verb provides a way to say "let's."

Negated imperatives (Не + imperative) are straightforward but interact with verbal aspect in important ways: imperfective imperatives in negation give general warnings, while perfective imperatives in negation warn about specific instances.

How It Works

Formation Rules

1. Take the third person plural present form: читают → чита-ют (stem: читай-)
2. If the stem ends in a vowel: add -й (singular) / -йте (plural/formal)
3. If the stem ends in a consonant with stress on the ending: add -и / -ите
4. If the stem ends in a consonant with stress on the stem: add -ь / -ьте

Common Examples

Infinitive	Singular (ты)	Formal/Plural (вы)
читать	читай	читайте
говорить	говори	говорите
писать	пиши	пишите
смотреть	смотри	смотрите
слушать	слушай	слушайте
помочь	помоги	помогите
сказать	скажи	скажите

"Let's" Construction

• давай + infinitive (informal): Давай пойдём! (Let's go!)
• давайте + infinitive or 1st person plural (formal): Давайте начнём! (Let's begin!)

Examples in Context

Russian	English	Note
Читай! Читайте!	Read!	Informal / formal
Говори медленнее, пожалуйста.	Speak more slowly, please.	Polite request
Не забудь!	Don't forget!	Negative imperative
Давайте пойдём!	Let's go!	"Let's" construction
Скажите, пожалуйста...	Tell me, please...	Polite formula
Смотри!	Look!	Informal
Помогите, пожалуйста!	Help, please!	Formal/urgent
Не волнуйся!	Don't worry!	Informal
Послушайте!	Listen!	Formal/plural
Садитесь, пожалуйста.	Please sit down.	Polite invitation

Common Mistakes

Using infinitive instead of imperative

• Wrong: Читать сейчас! (sounds very rude, like a military order)
• Right: Читай/Читайте сейчас.
• Why: The bare infinitive as a command is considered extremely blunt or is used only in official instructions.

Forgetting -те for formal/plural

• Wrong: Скажи, пожалуйста. (to a stranger)
• Right: Скажите, пожалуйста.
• Why: Using the informal imperative with someone you address as вы is inconsistent and impolite.

Incorrect stem changes

• Wrong: Писай! (from писать)
• Right: Пиши! (consonant mutation: с → ш)
• Why: Some verbs undergo stem changes in the imperative. These follow the same mutations as the first person singular present.

Practice Tips

• Learn the most useful imperatives as set phrases: Скажите, пожалуйста..., Покажите..., Помогите..., Подождите...
• Practice giving instructions for simple tasks using chains of imperatives: Откройте книгу, прочитайте текст, ответьте на вопросы.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: First Conjugation Verbs -- imperative formation depends on the present tense stem