Gogol Grammar Reference
The Imperative of Verbs

The Imperative Forms of Verbs are used to convey a request, command or strong injunction.

Most Imperative Verbs are used in the 2nd person singular and plural, for example:
Иван, иди(те) сюда! 'Come here!'

Sentences with the 1st and 2nd person imperatives do not contain grammatical subjects, and the nouns used in the Nominative case, like Иван in the above example, are the form of address.

The imperative forms can be derived from both imperfective and perfective verbs, for example:
Всегда говори правду. 'Always tell the truth'
Сейчас же скажи правду. 'Tell me the truth at once'

FORMATION OF THE 2nd PERSON IMPERATIVES

COMMENTS TO THE ABOVE TABLE

All plural forms are obtained by means of adding the ending –ТЕ to the singular forms.

1. If the last letter of the present tense stem is a vowel, add the suffix -Й- to it.

2. & 3.   If the last letter of the present tense stem is a consonant, one out of two suffixes can be added to it: either the suffix -И- or the suffix -Ь-.

   To select the correct suffix, one needs to know the stress pattern in the 1st person singular of the appropriate verb. If the stress falls on the ending (as in 2), add the suffix –И-; if it falls on the stem (as in 3), add –Ь-.

   Mind that the imperative form is derived from the present tense stem (the 3rd person plural), and not from the 1st person stem, which here serves us only to check the stress.

4. If the last two letters of the present tense stem are consonants, add the suffix – И- to it.

5. The verbs with the root да- (давать) and ста- (вставать) form their imperatives from the infinitival stems.

6. Reflexive verbs form their imperatives according to the general pattern: if the stem ends with a vowel, the suffix –Й- should be used before the reflexive suffixes –ся- (after a consonant) and -сь- (after a vowel) ; and if the stem ends with a consonant, one needs to choose between the suffixes –И- and –Ь- depending upon their stresses in the 1st person singular.

7. Some verbs form their imperatives without following any particular pattern; their imperative forms have to be memorized.

FORMATION OF THE 1st PERSON IMPERATIVES

The verbs in the 1st person plural are used either on their own or after the verb ДАВАЙ(ТЕ) 'let’s' to express the imperative meaning, for example:

Пойдем в кино! = Давай(те) пойдем в кино! 'Let’s go to the cinema!'

FORMATION OF THE 3rd PERSON IMPERATIVES

The 3rd person imperative is obtained by means of the word ПУСТЬ 'let' and a finite 3rd person singular or plural in the present or simple future tense, for example:

Пусть ребенок идет/пойдет в кино. 'Let the child go to the cinema'

Пусть дети идут/пойдут в кино. 'Let the children go to the cinema'

Sentences with the 3rd person imperatives usually have a grammatical subject (ребенок 'child' and дети 'children' in the above examples).

THE NUANCES OF THE IMPERATIVE MEANING

A COMMAND or an INJUNCTION can be expressed by means of the infinitival form, for example:
Встать! 'Get up!'

A REQUEST is often accompanied by parenthetical words, such as пожалуйста, будьте добры, будьте любезны ‘please’, for example:
Скажите, пожалуйста, который час? ‘What time is it now please?’

The 2nd person plural imperative may be used in addressing one person as a polite form of a request, for example:
Уважаемый Владимир, пишите нам почаще. ‘Dear Vladimir, write to us more often’

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