As in many other languages, Polish imperative forms are generally short. For most verbs they are built from the present tense stem. When the conjugation is marked by an alternation, it is the altered form that serves as the base for forming the imperative.
There are only three inflected forms in the imperative mood:
- the 2nd person singular
- the 1st person plural
- the 2nd person plural
Examples: inf. być (to be) – bądź, bądźmy, bądźcie
inf. mówić (to say) – mów, mówmy, mówcie
The imperative of the verbs belonging to the -ę / -esz and ę / -isz, -ę / -ysz conjugations is formed from the 3rd person singular form of a verb by dropping the personal ending and adding -my or -cie to the stem.
If the stem ends in a nasal consonant preceded by another consonant, or the stem does not contain any vowel, the ending -ij / -yj is added to the imperative form.
In the word final position -si, -zi, -ci and -dzi change into -ś, -ź, -ć and -dź.
If the stem ends in a soft labial consonant (-pi, -wi, -bi, -mi) it loses its softness in the imperative mood.
The imperative of the verbs belonging to the -am / -asz and -em / -esz conjugation is formed from the 3rd person plural form of a verb by cutting off the personal ending.
The imperative mood of the 3rd person singular and plural is formed by using the particle niech (let) and the appropriate form (3rd person singular and 3rd person plural) of the Present or Future Perfective Tense.
Exceptions from above rules:
Notice that when addressing someone politely (using pan, pani, etc.) you must use the 3rd person singular.
The construction proszę (please) and the infinitive is another formal construction in Polish.
Proszę, niech Pani się położy. / eng. Please, lie down.
Remember the polite forms of the pronouns: pan, panowie for men, pani, panie for women and państwo for a group with at least one man.
The imperative mood of verbs chcieć (to want), mieć (have), dać (to give) is formed by adding the suffix -j- and the appropriate personal ending to the stem of the infinitive.
inf. dać – daj, dajmy, dajcie
inf. mieć – miej, miejmy, miejcie
inf. chcieć – chciej, chciejmy, chciejcie
Commands and Their Politer Forms
Usiądź tutaj! – Proszę usiąść tutaj. / eng. Sit here! – Please, sit here.
Zdejmijcie buty! – Proszę zdjąć buty. / eng. Take off your shoes! – Please take off your shoes.
Zjedz zaraz obiad! – Proszę zjeść zaraz obiad. / eng. Eat dinner now! – Please eat your dinner now.
Otwórzcie książki! – Proszę otworzyć książki. / eng. Open your books! – Please open your books.
Commands and Answers
Affirmative form
Zamknij drzwi! – Dobrze. Zaraz zamknę. / eng. Close the door! – All right, I’ll close.
Już zamykam. / eng. I am closing now.
Wypij mleko! – Dobrze. Zaraz wypiję. / eng. Drink the milk! – All right. I’ll drink it right away.
Już piję. / eng. I am drinking now.
Wstań już! – Dobrze. Zaraz wstanę. / eng. Get up now! – All right. I’ll get up in a minute.
Już wstaję. / eng. I’m getting up.
Negative Forms
Zamknij drzwi! – Nie. Nie zamknę! / eng. Close the door! – No. I will not!
Wypij mleko! – Nie. Nie wypiję! / eng. Drink the milk! – No. I will not!
Wstań już! – Nie. Nie wstanę. / eng. Get up now! – No. I will not!
Nie. Jeszcze nie. / eng. No. Not yet.
Requests
Affirmative form
Zaśpiewajcie tę wesołą piosenkę! – Bardzo chętnie zaśpiewamy. / eng. Sing this happy song! – We’d love to sing.
– Bardzo chętnie. / eng. We’d love to.
– Z przyjemnością. / eng. With pleasure.
– Dobrze. Zaśpiewamy. / eng. All right, we’ll sing.
Negative Form
Zaśpiewajcie tę wesołą piosenkę! – Niestety, nie umiemy. / eng. Sing this happy song! – Unfortunately, we can’t.
– Niestety, nie potrafimy. / eng. Unfortunately, we cannot.
– Bardzo nam przykro, ale nie umiemy. / eng. We are very sorry, but we cannot.
– Teraz nie. Potem. / eng. Not now. Later.
Suggestions, Advices
Affirmative Form
Radzę ci, przyjdź wcześniej! – Dobrze, przyjdę. / eng. I advise you to come early! – Ok, I will come.
– Chętnie przyjdę wcześniej. / eng. I’d like to come earlier.
– Dobrze. Na pewno przyjdę. / eng. All right. I will come for sure.
– Tak, oczywiście przyjdę. / eng. Yes, of course I will come.
Negative Form
Radzę ci, przyjdź wcześniej! – Nie, nie przyjdę. / eng. I advise you to come early! – No, I won’t come.
– Nie, nie przyjdę. Nie mam ochoty. / eng. No, I won’t come. I do not want to.
– Nie warto. / eng. Not worth it.
– Nie ma sensu. / eng. Doesn’t make sense
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