The imperative mood in Ukrainian

The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request.

When we tell other people (and ourselves) what to do, we use the imperative (command or order) form of the verb: йди́ сюди́ (come here), принесі́ть води́, будь ла́ска,(bring water, please), скажі́ть, будь ла́ска (tell me, please).

In Ukrainian, we can give an order to:

1. one person in a familiar way, the 2nd person singular (ти):

Макси́ме,йди́ додо́му (Maksim, go home);

2. more than one person or one person formally, using the 2nd person plural (ви): дру́зі,йді́ть додо́му (friends, go home);

3. a group of people, including ourselves, using the 1st person plural (ми): дру́зі,йді́мо додо́му (friends, let’s go home).

This chart will help you to understand the logic of the imperative mood in Ukrainian:

First, you need to find out the conjugation of the verb.

Read about the conjugations in our article:

Ukrainian Verb Conjugation: How to Define and Use It

First Conjugation

Examples:

Чита́йте бі́льше книжо́к!

Read more books!

Зрозумі́йте мене́ пра́вильно, будь ла́ска.

Don’t get me wrong, please.

Іді́ть за мно́ю.

Follow me.

Порі́жте цей хліб, будь ла́ска.

Cut this bread, please.

Ста́ньте пря́мо.

Stand up straight.

Second Conjugation

Стій тут, я за́раз поверну́сь.

Stay (literally: stand) here. I’m coming back in a moment.

Зроби́ це завда́ння за́раз, будь ла́ска.

Perform this task now, please.

Ви́бачте, будь ла́ска. Як вас звати?

Excuse me, please. What is your name?

Ї́́жте бі́льше о́вочів і фру́ктів влі́тку.

Eat more fruit and vegetables in summer.

The 1st-person plural imperative (a call to perform) can be formed simply by replacing the ending -те with -мо or -iть with -iмо (or sometimes -м):

e.g. читáймо (let’s read), робíм(о) (let’s do), станьмо (let’s stand, let’s become).

We hope the usage of the imperative mood is straightforward for you. Let us know in the comments if the article was helpful.

The materials used in the preparation of the article:

1. Read Ukrainian! A reading course for beginners: https://www.ukrainianlanguage.org.uk/read/index.htm
2. Complete Ukrainian Beginner to Intermediate Course Olena Bekh James Dingley