Purpose

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to form basic affirmative commands in Russian and choose the correct aspect for a command.

Lesson Explanation

The Russian imperative is formed from the present-tense (for imperfective verbs) or future-tense (for perfective verbs, per Part 4, Lesson 3) stem, typically adding -й, -и, or nothing at all depending on the stem’s final sound: читать → читай! (Read!) говорить → говори! (Speak!)

For the вы (formal/plural) form, add -те to the informal command: читайте!, говорите! — a genuinely simple, regular addition compared to the more complex formal-command systems seen in Spanish or French.

A genuinely important, distinctive detail connecting directly to the aspect system from Part 4, Lesson 1: choosing between the imperfective and perfective imperative carries real meaning, not just style. The perfective imperative requests a single, complete action: Прочитай книгу! (Read the [whole] book! — a specific, completed task.) The imperfective imperative, by contrast, is often used for general invitations, ongoing permissions, or repeated/habitual requests: Читай книги каждый день! (Read books every day! — habitual, ongoing.)

A genuinely useful, related nuance: the imperfective imperative can also soften a command into something closer to an invitation, especially with verbs of motion (Part 4, Lesson 4): Заходи! (Come on in! — imperfective, warm/inviting) versus a more abrupt perfective equivalent that would sound genuinely more like a direct order.

Practice Questions