Imperative mood 6 2nd person singular commands

What does the 2nd person singular imperative mean?

• The imperative (tryb rozkazujący) is the verb form used to give commands, orders, requests, instructions, pieces of advice, or invitations to one person (informal ty).


• Example: Czytaj! — Read! / Nie mów! — Don’t speak!

When do I use it?

• To tell someone to do something now or habitually: Zrób to! — Do it! or Pisz codziennie. — Write every day.


• To give short instructions, recipes, directions, or warnings: Dodaj sól. — Add salt. / Uważaj! — Watch out!


• For quick requests in informal speech: Daj mi to, proszę. — Give me that, please.


• For formal/polite situations avoid the simple ty-imperative and use polite alternatives (see Politeness section).

How do I form the 2nd person singular imperative (practical rules)?
A simple, commonly used method that works for most verbs:
1. Start from the present tense ty-form (2nd person singular): for example czytasz, piszesz, pracujesz.
2. Remove the final -sz. That gives a base: czyta, pisze, pracuje.
3. If the base ends in a vowel (usually -a or -e), add -j to get the imperative: czytaj, pracuj.
4. If the base ends in a consonant, that consonant form is often the imperative: pisz, mów.

Notes and caveats:

• This recipe covers many—but not all—verbs. Polish has many irregular and stem-changing verbs; learn the common irregulars separately.


• Pronunciation and spelling changes (vowel shifts, consonant changes) are common: zrobić → zrób, iść → idź.

Formation patterns with concrete examples

• Verbs with present ty-form in -asz (imperf. 1sg -am): imperative usually -aj


• czytać – ty czytasz → czytaj! (Read!)


• kochać – ty kochasz → kochaj! (Love!)

• Verbs with present ty-form in -isz/-ysz (1sg often ends -ę): imperative often ends with no extra vowel (zero ending) or -j depending on sound
• pisać – ty piszesz → pisz! (Write!)
• mówić – ty mówisz → mów! (Speak!)
• patrzeć – ty patrzysz → patrz! (Look!)

• Verbs in -ować (present 1sg -uję): imperative usually -uj
• pracować – ty pracujesz → pracuj! (Work!)
• kupować – ty kupujesz → kupuj! (Buy!)

• Verbs that form the imperative with -nij (common with perfective pairs or certain infinitives)
• zapomnieć → zapomnij! (Forget!)

Common irregular verbs (learn these one-by-one) — examples and sentences
Many everyday verbs have irregular or stem-changing imperatives. Here are the most useful ones with example sentences:

• iść → idź! — Idź do domu. (Go home.)


• jeść → jedz! — Jedz obiad. (Eat lunch.)


• pić → pij! — Pij wodę. (Drink water.)


• dać → daj! — Daj mi to proszę. (Give me that, please.)


• wziąć → weź! — Weź parasol. (Take an umbrella.)


• brać → bierz! — Bierz więcej chleba. (Take more bread.)


• być → bądź! — Bądź cicho. (Be quiet.)


• mieć → miej! — Miej cierpliwość. (Have patience.)


• powiedzieć → powiedz! — Powiedz prawdę. (Tell the truth.)


• zrobić → zrób! — Zrób to teraz. (Do it now.)


• pamiętać → pamiętaj! — Pamiętaj o spotkaniu. (Remember the meeting.)

Aspect (perfective vs imperfective) — which verb should I choose?

• Polish verbs have aspect (imperfective vs perfective). In commands the aspect changes the meaning:


• Use a perfective verb when you want the action completed once: Napisz list! — Write (and finish) the letter.


• Use an imperfective verb when you mean an ongoing, habitual, or repeated action: Pisz list codziennie. — Write letters every day / keep writing.


• Examples:


• Zadzwoń do mnie o 18:00. (Perfective) — Call me at 18:00 (one completed call).


• Dzwoń do mnie codziennie. (Imperfective) — Call me every day (repeated action).

How to make negative commands (Don’t …)?

• Put nie before the imperative: Nie mów! — Don’t speak! / Nie jedz tego! — Don’t eat that!


• In many prohibitions the imperfective is used (emphasising the ongoing action), but perfective negation is also possible depending on nuance.

Reflexive verbs and object pronouns with commands

• The reflexive particle się follows the verb: Umyj się! — Wash yourself!


• Direct and indirect object pronouns usually come after the verb in commands: Powiedz mi! (Tell me!) — not *Mi powiedz* in neutral word order.


• Example with reflexive + pronoun: Umyj się i daj mi ręcznik. — Wash yourself and give me a towel.

Politeness and formal address (how to avoid the simple ty-imperative)]

• The simple 2nd person singular imperative is informal. For a polite or formal request use one of these:


• Proszę + infinitive: Proszę usiąść. — Please sit down. (common in announcements or polite requests)


• Niech + pan/pani + 3rd-person verb: Niech pan usiądzie. — Please sit down, sir. (formal)


• Add proszę to soften the imperative: Proszę, daj mi to. (still informal but polite)


• Avoid using plain ty imperatives with strangers, elders, or in formal situations.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using the ty-imperative in a formal situation (use proszę + infinitive or niech pan/pani).


• Choosing the wrong aspect: perfective when you mean a repeated/ongoing action (or vice versa).


• Forgetting irregular stems (e.g., write idź, not *idz). Diacritics and stem changes matter: zrób, weź, bądź.


• Wrong placement of pronouns: object pronouns normally follow the imperative verb (e.g., Powiedz mi, not *Mi powiedz* in neutral speech).

Quick reference — useful verbs (infinitive → ty-form → imperative → English)

• czytać → ty czytasz → czytaj! — Read!


• pisać → ty piszesz → pisz! — Write!


• pracować → ty pracujesz → pracuj! — Work!


• słuchać → ty słuchasz → słuchaj! — Listen!


• patrzeć → ty patrzysz → patrz! — Look!


• iść → ty idziesz → idź! — Go!


• jeść → ty jesz → jedz! — Eat!


• pić → ty pijesz → pij! — Drink!


• dać → ty dasz → daj! — Give!


• wziąć → ty weźmiesz → weź! — Take!


• być → ty jesteś → bądź! — Be!


• mieć → ty masz → miej! — Have!


• zrobić → ty zrobisz → zrób! — Do/make!

Short glossary

• Imperative (tryb rozkazujący): verb form for commands/requests.


• Ty-form: the informal 2nd person singular present tense form (used here as the starting point for many imperatives).


• Imperfective / Perfective: aspect pair; imperfective = ongoing/habitual, perfective = completed single action (useful to choose the right verb for a command).


• Reflexive particle (się): follows the verb in commands (Umyj się!).