The Volitive in -U | Esperanto Grammar

The ending -u marks an action or state as wanted: commanded, requested, proposed, wished for, or pursued as a goal. Venu! asks someone to come; Mi volas, ke vi venu places the same desired action inside a subordinate clause. Although traditional grammar often calls -u an imperative, “volitive” is more accurate because it works with every person, not only second-person commands. The dedicated subordinate-clause page develops the finer choices after different main predicates.

All core uses here are neutral standard Esperanto. Directness comes from the whole expression and situation; -u itself occurs in casual conversation, polite requests, formal instructions, and elevated wishes.

Form: replace -i with invariant -u

The formation is completely regular: paroli → parolu, veni → venu, esti → estu. The ending does not change for person or number.

Subject	Example	Typical force
understood vi	Venu!	command or request
ni	Ni venu.	proposal or exhortation
li/ŝi/ili	Ili venu.	speaker's will about others
mi	Mi provu.	self-directed resolve
oni	Oni ne fumu.	general rule or instruction

Fermu la fenestron, mi petas; ĉi tie estas malvarme.

Close the window, please; it's cold in here.

Ne tuŝu la paton sen gantoj.

Don't touch the pan without gloves.

The understood subject of a direct command is normally vi, singular or plural. Stating vi is possible for contrast or emphasis: Vi restu ĉi tie; Marko venu kun mi.

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In a direct command, omit ordinary vi but keep it when contrasting addressees. The verb itself stays exactly the same either way.

Proposals, wishes, and third-person directives

With ni, the volitive commonly proposes joint action. A question with ĉu ni ...u? invites the listener's view and is often gentler than a bare exhortation.

Ni komencu per la plej urĝa demando.

Let's begin with the most urgent question.

Ĉu ni mendu unu grandan picon por ĉiuj?

Shall we order one large pizza for everyone?

Third-person subjects remain overt because the invariant verb does not identify them.

Li atendu ekstere ĝis la kuracisto vokos lin.

Let him wait outside until the doctor calls him.

La infanoj unue finu siajn taskojn, poste ili povas ludi.

Let the children finish their tasks first; then they can play.

The first-person singular is less frequent but natural for a self-directed decision, especially when thinking aloud.

Mi kontrolu la adreson ankoraŭ unu fojon, por ke mi ne sendu ĝin al la malĝusta persono.

Let me check the address once more so that I don't send it to the wrong person.

Wishes and ceremonial formulas also use -u. These may sound (formal) or elevated depending on context:

Vivu la amikeco inter la popoloj!

Long live friendship among peoples!

The traditional standalone form is Vivu ...!, without introductory ke. Positive Ke vivu ...! occurs under influence from other languages but is nontraditional and best avoided in careful standard prose.

Desired action in a ke-clause

When a main clause expresses will, request, command, necessity, recommendation, or purpose, a following ke clause uses -u for the action wanted. The subordinate verb does not assert that the event is already real.

Mi volas, ke vi venu iom pli frue.

I want you to come a little earlier.

Ŝi petis, ke ni ne menciu la surprizon.

She asked us not to mention the surprise.

La kuracisto rekomendis, ke li ripozu kelkajn tagojn.

The doctor recommended that he rest for a few days.

The tense of the main verb does not change the -u ending. Ŝi petis is past, but menciu still marks the requested action rather than past or future time. Context shows that the action is later than the request.

This pattern is especially important for English speakers. English says “I want him to come,” using an object plus infinitive. Esperanto normally says Mi volas, ke li venu when the person who comes differs from the subject of volas. By contrast, Mi volas veni means that I want to come.

Mi volas foriri nun, sed mi volas, ke vi restu.

I want to leave now, but I want you to stay.

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Use an infinitive when the wanting subject also performs the action: mi volas veni. Use ke + explicit subject + -u when someone else performs it: mi volas, ke li venu.

Purpose with por ke

A purpose is a desired outcome rather than an asserted fact, so por ke normally introduces a clause with -u.

Mi skribis la adreson klare, por ke la kuriero trovu la domon.

I wrote the address clearly so that the courier would find the house.

Parolu iom pli laŭte, por ke ĉiuj aŭdu vin.

Speak a little louder so that everyone can hear you.

English may use can, could, or would in such clauses. Esperanto does not mechanically translate that auxiliary. The central meaning is the intended result, and -u marks it directly. If actual ability is independently important, povu can appear: por ke ĉiuj povu aŭdi vin “so that everyone can be able to hear you.”

-U, real tense, and -US

The contrast among endings reflects stance, not merely time:

Vi venos morgaŭ.

You will come tomorrow.

Venu morgaŭ.

Come tomorrow.

Vi venus morgaŭ, se ne estus striko.

You would come tomorrow if there were no strike.

Venos predicts or asserts a future event. Venu requests it. Venus places it in an imagined condition. Both -u and -us are moods without inherent tense, even though the wanted or imagined action often lies in the future.

In reported speech, use the meaning of the original utterance. A reported command remains volitive:

La estro diris, ke mi sendu la raporton antaŭ tagmezo.

The manager told me to send the report before noon.

If diris merely reports information, a real tense is used: La estro diris, ke mi sendos la raporton means “The manager said that I would send the report.”

Politeness: direct -U and bonvolu + infinitive

A bare -u form can be friendly or abrupt depending on intonation, wording, and relationship. Bonvolu + infinitive is a standard way to make an explicit polite request.

Bonvolu atendi ĉi tie dum kelkaj minutoj.

Please wait here for a few minutes.

Only bonvolu carries -u; the requested action stays infinitive. Bonvolu atendu incorrectly stacks two volitive verbs. Alternatives include Mi petas, atendu ĉi tie and the more distanced Ĉu vi povus atendi ĉi tie?

Historically, Zamenhof used volu + infinitive rather than bonvolu + infinitive. Volu sidiĝi is understandable but now (archaic/formal); bonvolu sidiĝi is the normal modern form. Bonvole atendu also occurs as a logical modern alternative, but bonvolu atendi is the most established pedagogical model.

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Do not treat -u as inherently rude. Add bonvolu, mi petas, a reason, or conditional povus when the social situation calls for explicit softening.

Negation and complements

Place ne before the volitive verb: Ne forgesu, Li ne venu, Mi petas, ke vi ne malfruu. Objects and other complements keep the case or preposition required by the verb.

Ne forgesu viajn ŝlosilojn, kaj telefonu al mi kiam vi alvenos.

Don't forget your keys, and call me when you arrive.

The object viajn ŝlosilojn remains accusative. The recipient al mi remains a prepositional complement. Changing mood never changes valency.

Common Mistakes

Using -AS for a desired subordinate action

❌ Mi volas, ke ŝi venas hodiaŭ.

Incorrect for a request or wish — venas presents her coming as real.

✅ Mi volas, ke ŝi venu hodiaŭ.

I want her to come today.

Copying English object + infinitive

❌ Mi volas lin veni kun ni.

Incorrect — when li is the subject of veni, use a ke-clause.

✅ Mi volas, ke li venu kun ni.

I want him to come with us.

Doubling the volitive after bonvolu

❌ Bonvolu fermu la pordon.

Incorrect — bonvolu takes an infinitive complement.

✅ Bonvolu fermi la pordon.

Please close the door.

Confusing an imagined result with a command

❌ Mi irus nun!

Incorrect for ‘Let's go now!’ — irus describes an imagined action.

✅ Ni iru nun!

Let's go now!

Adding a plural ending to the verb

❌ La gastoj siduj ĉi tie.

Incorrect — -u is invariant; plurality belongs to the subject.

✅ La gastoj sidu ĉi tie.

Let the guests sit here.

Key Takeaways

-U marks wanted action: commands, requests, proposals, wishes, and purposes.
The ending is invariant and works with every person; direct second-person commands normally omit vi.
Use ke + subject + -u when one person wants another person to act.
Por ke normally takes -u because it introduces an intended outcome.
Bonvolu takes an infinitive, and -u must not be confused with imagined -us or future -os.

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