Verbs: Imperative Mood

01

Informal Commands: Singular (Ty)

To give a command to a single person you know familiarly (addressing them as ty), you generally use the stem of the present tense verb.

For most verbs, you take the third-person singular present form (e.g., czyta) and remove the final vowel if there is one, or add -j if the stem ends in a vowel.

• Czytaj ten tekst!

  Read this text!

• Czekaj na mnie.

  Wait for me.

If the verb stem ends in a consonant cluster that is difficult to pronounce, the ending -ij or -yj is added to the stem.

• Zamknij drzwi.

  Close the door.

• Wyśpij się.

  Get some sleep.

02

Informal Commands: Plural (Wy)

When addressing a group of people informally (addressing them as wy), simply take the singular imperative form described above and add the ending -cie.

• Czytajcie głośno.

  Read aloud. (plural)

• Czekajcie tutaj.

  Wait here. (plural)

• Piszcie szybciej!

  Write faster! (plural)

03

Suggestions: First Person Plural (My)

To propose an action that includes yourself (equivalent to the English "Let's..."), add the ending -my to the singular imperative form.

• Zróbmy to teraz.

  Let's do it now.

• Chodźmy do domu.

  Let's go home.

• Kupmy ten samochód.

  Let's buy this car.

04

Formal and Third-Person Commands

Commands for formal address (using pan, pani, państwo) or third persons (he, she, they) are formed differently. These require the particle niech followed by the subject and the verb in the standard present or future tense (3rd person form).

This structure is less direct and more polite than the informal imperative.

• Niech pan usiądzie.

  Please sit down, sir.

• Niech pani na to spojrzy.

  Please look at this, madam.

• Niech oni wejdą.

  Let them come in.

05

Aspect: Commands vs. Prohibitions

The choice between perfective and imperfective verbs changes the meaning of the command significantly.

1. Positive Commands (Do it!)

To tell someone to complete a specific action once, use the perfective verb.

• Napisz do mnie.

  Write to me. (once, complete the action)

• Powiedz mi prawdę.

  Tell me the truth.

2. Prohibitions (Don't do it!)

To tell someone not to do something, you almost always use the imperfective verb, regardless of whether it is a one-time or repeated action.

• Nie pisz po stole.

  Don't write on the table.

• Nie mów nikomu.

  Don't tell anyone.

3. Continuous Commands

If you want someone to do something continuously or repeatedly, use the imperfective verb in a positive command.

• Pisz wyraźniej.

  Write more clearly. (general advice/habit)

• Ucz się codziennie.

  Study every day.

06

Common Irregular Forms

Some high-frequency verbs have irregular imperative stems that must be memorized.

• Bądź ostrożny!

  Be careful! (from być)

• Jedz warzywa.

  Eat vegetables. (from jeść)

• Weź parasol.

  Take an umbrella. (from wziąć)