English commands have no aspect. "Write it!" is "write it!" whether you mean do it this once or make a habit of it. Greek, true to form, splits the imperative in two along the aspect line — and this is the corner of the aspect system that textbooks for English speakers almost always skip. γράψε and γράφε are both "write!", but one asks for a single act now and the other for a standing practice. Learning to hear the difference is what lets you understand why a Greek parent says γράφε to a child learning penmanship but γράψε when dictating a phone number.
The two commands
| Perfective imperative | Imperfective imperative | |
|---|---|---|
| Form | γράψε! | γράφε! |
| Means | write it (once, now) | write (as a habit / keep writing) |
| Use for | one specific action | routines, standing rules, "carry on" |
The mental picture is the same as always: perfective = one bounded act, imperfective = ongoing or repeated. A command just points that viewpoint at the person in front of you. "Do this one thing" is perfective; "make this your practice" or "keep doing it" is imperfective.
The perfective imperative — do it once, now
This is the command you use most: a single, specific, here-and-now request.
Κλείσε την πόρτα σιγά, κοιμάται το μωρό.
klíse tin pórta sighá, kimáte to moró
Close the door gently, the baby's asleep.
Φάε το φαγητό σου όσο είναι ζεστό.
fáe to fayitó su óso íne zestó
Eat your food while it's hot.
Στείλε μου ένα μήνυμα μόλις φτάσεις σπίτι.
stíle mu éna mínima mólis ftásis spíti
Send me a message as soon as you get home.
Close the door (this door, now), eat the food (this plate), send one message. Each is a snapshot with a full stop after it — the perfective's natural territory.
The imperfective imperative — keep doing it, or make it a rule
Switch the stem and the command stops being about this moment and becomes about how you should act in general — a habit, a continuous behaviour, or an ongoing instruction.
Γράφε καθαρά, δεν καταλαβαίνω τα γράμματά σου.
ghráfe kathará, dhen katalavéno ta ghrámatá su
Write neatly — I can't make out your handwriting. (a standing instruction)
Να τρως φρούτα κάθε μέρα, σου κάνουν καλό.
na tros frúta káthe méra, su kánun kaló
Eat fruit every day, it's good for you. (a habit)
Πρόσεχε πού πατάς, ο δρόμος έχει λάσπη.
próseche pu patás, o dhrómos échi láspi
Watch where you step, the road is muddy. (stay alert, ongoing)
Οδήγα προσεκτικά, ο δρόμος γλιστράει με τη βροχή.
odhígha prosektiká, o dhrómos ghlistrái me ti vrochí
Drive carefully, the road is slippery in the rain. (throughout, ongoing)
Notice πρόσεχε and οδήγα: warnings and safety advice are naturally imperfective, because you are telling someone to stay in a state of care, not to perform one quick act of carefulness. That is why the everyday warnings — πρόσεχε! (be careful!), σώπα! (hush!), περίμενε (wait / hold on) — are imperfective in shape.
The Πες μου / Λέγε contrast
The single clearest window onto this distinction is the verb λέω "say/tell." Its two imperatives are used for genuinely different jobs, and a learner who confuses them sounds odd.
Πες μου τι έγινε, ανησυχώ πολύ.
pes mu ti éyine, anisichó polí
Tell me what happened, I'm really worried. (deliver the news — one act → perfective)
Λέγε, σε ακούω, μη σταματάς.
léye, se akúo, mi stamatás
Go on, I'm listening, don't stop. (keep talking → imperfective)
Πες μου asks for the information as a single delivery — out with it. Λέγε is what you say to keep someone talking — go on, carry on. English uses two completely different phrasings ("tell me" vs "go on"); Greek gets both from one verb by switching the aspect.
Same verb, both ways
Hold the verb still and let only the aspect move. Both are natural commands — they simply ask for different things.
Άνοιξε το παράθυρο, έχει πολλή ζέστη εδώ μέσα.
ánikse to paráthiro, échi polí zésti edhó mésa
Open the window, it's very hot in here. (once, now → perfective)
Άνοιγε το παράθυρο κάθε πρωί για λίγο να αερίζεται το δωμάτιο.
ániye to paráthiro káthe proí ya lígho na aerízete to dhomátio
Open the window for a bit every morning so the room airs out. (a daily habit → imperfective)
Negative commands work differently — but the aspect still matters
One thing to flag before you go looking for it: Greek has no negative form of the plain imperative. You cannot put μη in front of γράψε. Instead, a negative command is built with μη(ν) + the subjunctive, and — crucially — the aspect choice survives the switch. So the perfective/imperfective decision you just learned carries straight over into prohibitions.
Μην ανοίξεις αυτό το γράμμα, δεν είναι δικό σου.
min aníksis aftó to ghráma, dhen íne dhikó su
Don't open this letter, it's not yours. (one act → perfective)
Μην ανοίγεις ποτέ την πόρτα σε αγνώστους.
min aníyis poté tin pórta se aghnóstus
Never open the door to strangers. (a standing rule → imperfective)
The full picture of negative commands — the μη vs μην spelling, the pronoun order — is on negative commands with μη(ν). The positive paradigms are on the perfective imperative and the imperfective imperative.
Common Mistakes
1. Using the imperfective for an urgent one-off. "Shut the door, the cold's coming in" is one act now — perfective. The imperfective would mean "keep shutting it / shut it as a habit."
❌ Κλείνε την πόρτα, μπαίνει κρύο μέσα!
Incorrect — a single urgent act needs the perfective: Κλείσε.
✅ Κλείσε την πόρτα, μπαίνει κρύο μέσα!
klíse tin pórta, béni krío mésa!
Shut the door, the cold's coming in!
2. Using the perfective for a standing rule. "Always wear a seatbelt" is a habit — imperfective. The perfective φόρεσε asks for a single act of putting it on.
❌ Φόρεσε πάντα ζώνη όταν οδηγείς.
Incorrect — a standing rule needs the imperfective imperative: Φόρα.
✅ Φόρα πάντα ζώνη όταν οδηγείς.
fóra pánda zóni ótan odhiyís
Always wear a seatbelt when you drive.
3. Using the perfective for "keep going." "Keep reading, don't stop" is continuous — imperfective. The perfective Διάβασε means "read it once," which clashes with "don't stop."
❌ Διάβασε, μη σταματάς, σε ακούμε όλοι.
Incorrect — 'keep going' needs the imperfective: Διάβαζε.
✅ Διάβαζε, μη σταματάς, σε ακούμε όλοι.
dhiávaze, mi stamatás, se akúme óli
Keep reading, don't stop, we're all listening.
4. Using the imperfective for a single delivery. "Send me the file, I need it now" is one send — perfective. Στέλνε would mean "keep sending it."
❌ Στέλνε μου το αρχείο, το χρειάζομαι τώρα.
Incorrect — a single act needs the perfective: Στείλε.
✅ Στείλε μου το αρχείο, το χρειάζομαι τώρα.
stíle mu to archío, to chriázome tóra
Send me the file, I need it right now.
Key Takeaways
- Greek commands carry aspect: perfective (γράψε, κλείσε, φάε) = do it once, now; imperfective (γράφε, πρόσεχε, να τρως) = do it habitually / keep doing it / as a rule.
- Warnings and "carry on" commands are naturally imperfective (πρόσεχε!, σώπα!, Λέγε!); specific here-and-now requests are perfective (Πες μου!, Κλείσε!).
- The Πες μου / Λέγε pair is the clearest model: one verb, two jobs, split by aspect alone.
- Negative commands use μη(ν) + subjunctive, not the plain imperative — and the same aspect choice applies (μην ανοίξεις vs μην ανοίγεις).
- Silent test: "…this once" → perfective; "…as a rule / and keep it up" → imperfective.
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Perfective ImperativeA2 — The default 'do it once, now' command — built on the perfective stem with the endings -ε / -τε (γράψε / γράψτε, διάβασε / διαβάστε, μίλησε / μιλήστε), including the crucial rule that the imperative takes no augment.
- Imperfective ImperativeB1 — The 'keep doing it / do it as a rule' command — built on the present stem with -ε (γράφε, πρόσεχε) in the 1st conjugation and -α (μίλα, κοίτα) in the 2nd, contrasted throughout with the one-shot perfective.
- Negative Commands: μη(ν) + SubjunctiveA2 — Why Greek has no negative imperative and builds every prohibition with μη(ν) + the subjunctive — Μην το κάνεις, Μη φεύγεις — keeping the aspect contrast (Μη γράφεις vs Μη γράψεις) and moving object pronouns back in front of the verb.