Forming the Imperative | Czech Grammar

The imperative is the form you use to tell someone to do something — Dělej! ("Do it!"), Počkej! ("Wait!"), Pojď sem! ("Come here!"). Czech has three imperative forms, not one, and — crucially for English speakers — it builds them from the present stem, not from the infinitive. Get that starting point right and the endings fall into a small, learnable set of patterns. This page shows you how to find the stem and which of the three ending-patterns to attach.

Three forms, three audiences

English has essentially one command form ("Wait!"). Czech distinguishes three, by who you are commanding:

Form	Who	Rough English
2nd singular	one person you're on ty terms with	"Do it!"
1st plural	you + others, a suggestion	"Let's do it!"
2nd plural	several people, OR one person politely (vy)	"Do it!" (pl./polite)

The 2nd-plural form does double duty: it commands a group and it is the polite singular. When you address one stranger or a superior with vy (vykání), you give commands with this plural form — Počkejte, prosím ("Please wait"). There is no separate "polite singular" to learn.

Step 1: find the present stem

The imperative is built on the present stem, which you get by taking the 3rd-person plural present and stripping its ending (-ou, -í, or -ají):

Verb	3pl present	Present stem
nést (to carry)	nesou	nes-
tisknout (to press/print)	tisknou	tiskn-
myslet (to think)	myslí	mysl-
dělat (to do)	dělají	dělej- (special, see below)

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Build the imperative from the present, never the infinitive. The infinitive nést would mislead you; the present nesou gives the real stem nes-. This is the number-one habit to internalize.

Step 2: pick the ending pattern

Which endings you attach depends on what the present stem ends in. There are three patterns.

Pattern A — zero ending (stem ends in a single consonant)

When the stem ends in one consonant after a vowel, the 2sg takes no ending at all; the others add -me and -te.

Form	Ending	nést → nes-
2sg	—	nes!
1pl	-me	nesme!
2pl / polite	-te	neste!

Nes ten kufr opatrně, je v něm sklo.

Carry that suitcase carefully, there's glass in it.

Neste to prosím rovnou do kuchyně.

Please carry it straight to the kitchen. (polite/plural)

Pattern B — the -i type (stem ends in a consonant cluster)

When the stem ends in two or more consonants, a bare command would be unpronounceable (tiskn!), so Czech inserts a vowel: -i in the 2sg, -ěme/-eme in the 1pl, -ěte/-ete in the 2pl. (The ě/e choice is just spelling — ě after b, p, v, m, d, t, n, plain e after others.)

Form	Ending	tisknout → tiskn-	myslet → mysl-
2sg	-i	tiskni!	mysli!
1pl	-ěme / -eme	tiskněme!	mysleme!
2pl / polite	-ěte / -ete	tiskněte!	myslete!

Mysli na to, než něco řekneš.

Think about it before you say anything.

Otevři okno, je tu hrozné horko.

Open the window, it's terribly hot in here. (otevřít → otevř- + i)

Pattern C — the -ej type (the dělat class, 3pl in -ají)

Verbs whose infinitive ends in -at and whose 3rd-plural ends in -ají form the imperative with -ej / -ejme / -ejte. This is one of the most common patterns, since the dělat class is huge.

Form	Ending	dělat	počkat (pf. wait)
2sg	-ej	dělej!	počkej!
1pl	-ejme	dělejme!	počkejme!
2pl / polite	-ejte	dělejte!	počkejte!

Dělej, ať nepřijdeme pozdě!

Hurry up, so we're not late! (Dělej! literally 'do!', used as 'come on, get moving')

Dělejme to společně, půjde to rychleji.

Let's do it together, it'll go faster. (1st plural 'let's')

Počkejte na mě u východu, prosím.

Wait for me by the exit, please. (polite/plural)

Putting it together: the choice in one picture

So the whole decision is: find the present stem, look at its end.

the dělat class (3pl in -ají) → -ej / -ejme / -ejte
stem ends in a single consonant → zero / -me / -te
stem ends in a cluster → -i / -ěme(-eme) / -ěte(-ete)

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Two wrinkles you'll meet soon: stems ending in d, t, n often soften to ď, ť, ň before the zero ending (vrátit → vrať! "give it back"), and a long stem vowel can shorten (koupit → kup!). These are covered on the consonant softening page.

A few high-frequency irregulars

A handful of everyday verbs have imperatives you should simply memorize, because they don't fall cleanly out of the patterns — most famously the verb of coming:

2sg	1pl	2pl / polite	Meaning
pojď	pojďme	pojďte	come (on foot)!
jez	jezme	jezte	eat!
buď	buďme	buďte	be!
měj	mějme	mějte	have!

Pojď sem, něco ti ukážu.

Come here, I'll show you something.

Mějte se hezky, na shledanou!

Take care, goodbye! (literally 'have yourselves nicely' — a standard farewell)

For the full list, see the irregular imperatives page.

A note on aspect

Which aspect you put in the imperative changes the flavour of the command — perfective for a single concrete request (Zavři dveře "Shut the door"), imperfective for a general or ongoing instruction (Zavírej dveře "Keep the door shut / always shut it"). Negative commands flip strongly toward the imperfective (Nedělej to! "Don't do it!"). That whole dimension has its own page: aspect in affirmative vs. negative commands.

Common Mistakes

❌ Dělat to teď! (using the infinitive as a command)

Incorrect — the infinitive is not a command form; build the imperative from the present stem.

✅ Dělej to teď!

Do it now!

❌ Myslte na to. (no inserted vowel after the cluster)

Incorrect — a stem ending in a cluster needs the -ě-/-e- vowel: mysl + ete.

✅ Myslete na to.

Think about it. (polite/plural)

❌ Počkajte na mě. (treating it like a plain -te verb)

Incorrect — the dělat/počkat class takes -ej-: počkej + te.

✅ Počkejte na mě.

Wait for me. (polite/plural)

❌ Pane Nový, podejte mi to... ne, podej. (mixing polite vy with familiar ty)

Inconsistent — to someone you address as vy, use the plural/polite imperative throughout.

✅ Pane Nový, podejte mi to, prosím.

Mr. Nový, pass me that, please. (consistent polite form)

Key Takeaways

Czech has three imperatives: 2sg, 1pl ("let's"), and 2pl (also the polite singular).
Build them from the present stem = 3pl present minus its ending — not from the infinitive.
Three patterns by stem ending: single consonant → zero / -me / -te; cluster → -i / -ěme / -ěte; the dělat class (3pl -ají) → -ej / -ejme / -ejte.
The 2pl form is your polite command — use it consistently with anyone you address as vy.
Memorize a few irregulars (pojď, jez, buď, měj) and watch for d/t/n softening.

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