Most Greek commands are predictable: take the perfective (aorist) stem and add an ending — γράφω → γράψε (write), αγοράζω → αγόρασε (buy). That machinery is on the perfective imperative page. But a small group of the most common verbs in the language have imperatives you cannot build from any rule — the command form is a different word from the present tense. These are the suppletive, irregular imperatives, and because the verbs are so frequent, these are among the very first commands a learner hears: Έλα! (Come!), Πες μου (Tell me), Δες! (Look!). There is no shortcut. You memorise them.
Why you can't derive these
A regular perfective imperative is transparent because the aorist stem is transparent: γράφ‑ω, γράψ‑α, γράψ‑ε. The verbs below either use a completely different root for their perfective (this is suppletion, the same phenomenon as English go / went) or reshape the stem so drastically that the imperative is unrecognisable. λέω "say" builds its perfective on π‑ (πες, να πω), βλέπω "see" borrows δ‑ (δες, να δω), and έρχομαι "come" has no imperative of its own at all — Greek fills the gap with έλα, a form inherited from an old, otherwise-dead verb. The same suppletion shows up across the whole verb (see suppletive aorists); the imperative is just where you meet it first.
The core list
Each verb has a singular (used for one person you are on familiar terms with) and a plural (used for a group, or politely for a single stranger — see softening commands). Learn both columns together.
| Present (I …) | Meaning | Singular | Plural / polite |
|---|---|---|---|
| έρχομαι | come | έλα | ελάτε |
| λέω | say, tell | πες | πείτε |
| βλέπω | see, look | δες | δείτε |
| τρώω | eat | φάε | φάτε |
| πίνω | drink | πιες | πιείτε |
| βρίσκω | find | βρες | βρείτε |
| μπαίνω | go in, enter | μπες | μπείτε |
| βγαίνω | go out, exit | βγες | βγείτε |
| ανεβαίνω | go up | ανέβα | ανεβείτε |
| κατεβαίνω | go down | κατέβα | κατεβείτε |
| κάθομαι | sit | κάτσε | καθίστε |
| δίνω | give | δώσε | δώστε |
| παίρνω | take, get | πάρε | πάρτε |
| πάω | go | πήγαινε | πηγαίνετε |
| αφήνω | leave, let | άσε (άφησε) | άστε (αφήστε) |
The single-syllable forms — πες, δες, βρες, μπες, βγες — are a neat family: all built on a bare consonant-plus-‑ες, all with plurals in ‑είτε (πείτε, δείτε, βρείτε, μπείτε, βγείτε). Learn the pattern once and five verbs come along together.
Έλα and ελάτε — the first command you'll hear
Έλα is everywhere. Beyond "come here," Greeks use it as a conversational filler meaning "come on," "oh come off it," or even "hello?" when answering the phone to someone familiar.
Έλα εδώ, θέλω να σου δείξω κάτι.
éla edhó, thélo na su dhíkso káti
Come here, I want to show you something.
Ελάτε να φάμε, το φαγητό κρύωσε!
eláte na fáme, to fayitó kríose
Come and eat, the food's gone cold!
Έλα τώρα, δεν είναι και τόσο άσχημα.
éla tóra, dhen íne ke tóso áschima
Oh come on, it's not that bad.
Πες and δες — say and look
Πες μου τη γνώμη σου, θέλω να ξέρω.
pes mu ti ghnómi su, thélo na kséro
Tell me your opinion, I want to know.
Δες ποιος είναι στην πόρτα, σε παρακαλώ.
dhes pios íne stin pórta, se parakaló
See who's at the door, please.
Δείτε προσεκτικά πριν διασχίσετε τον δρόμο.
dhíte prosektiká prin dhiaschísete ton dhrómo
Look carefully before you cross the road.
Φάε and πιες — eat and drink
Φάε κάτι, δεν έχεις βάλει τίποτα στο στόμα σου.
fáe káti, dhen échis váli típota sto stóma su
Eat something, you haven't had a bite all day.
Πιες λίγο νερό, θα σου περάσει.
pies lígho neró, tha su perási
Drink some water, it'll pass.
Μπες, βγες, ανέβα, κατέβα — motion in and out, up and down
Μπες μέσα, κάνει κρύο έξω.
bes mésa, káni krío ékso
Come inside, it's cold out.
Βγες έξω για λίγο να πάρεις αέρα.
vyes ékso ya lígho na páris aéra
Step outside for a bit and get some air.
Ανέβα πάνω, σε περιμένουμε όλοι.
anéva páno, se periménume óli
Come up, we're all waiting for you.
Κατέβα σιγά σιγά, τα σκαλιά γλιστράνε.
katéva sighá sighá, ta skaliá ghlistráne
Come down slowly, the steps are slippery.
Κάτσε, δώσε, πάρε, βρες — everyday business
Κάτσε κάτω και ηρέμησε λίγο.
kátse káto ke irémise lígho
Sit down and calm down a little.
Πάρε ό,τι θέλεις από το ψυγείο.
páre ó,ti thélis apó to psiyío
Take whatever you want from the fridge.
Βρες έναν τρόπο να το λύσεις μόνος σου.
vres énan trópo na to lísis mónos su
Find a way to solve it on your own.
Singular vs plural is not optional
Every verb in the table has both a singular and a plural, and choosing the wrong one is a real social slip. Say Κάτσε to your friend but Καθίστε to a customer; Πες μου to your brother but Πείτε μου to a stranger. The plural is the polite form to one person — the same politeness logic that runs through softening commands.
Περάστε, καθίστε, σε λίγο θα σας εξυπηρετήσουμε.
peráste, kathíste, se lígho tha sas eksipiretísume
Come in, take a seat, we'll be with you shortly.
Common Mistakes
1. Trying to build a command from έρχομαι. The verb has no imperative — the command is the suppletive έλα / ελάτε.
❌ Έρχου εδώ αμέσως.
Incorrect — έρχομαι has no imperative, so use Έλα εδώ.
✅ Έλα εδώ αμέσως.
éla edhó amésos
Come here right now.
2. Regularising λέω into a non-existent form. Learners expect λέω to give ×λέξε by analogy with γράφω → γράψε. It doesn't; the command is πες.
❌ Λέξε μου τι θέλεις.
Incorrect — there is no ×λέξε, so the command is Πες μου.
✅ Πες μου τι θέλεις.
pes mu ti thélis
Tell me what you want.
3. Regularising βλέπω. The same trap: ×βλέψε does not exist. The command is the suppletive δες.
❌ Βλέψε αυτή την εικόνα.
Incorrect — no ×βλέψε exists, so the command is Δες.
✅ Δες αυτή την εικόνα.
dhes aftí tin ikóna
Look at this picture.
4. Building the plural by just tacking ‑τε onto the singular. The plural of έλα is not ×έλατε — it is ελάτε, with its own stress and vowel.
❌ Έλατε γρήγορα, αρχίζει!
Incorrect — the plural is ελάτε, not ×έλατε.
✅ Ελάτε γρήγορα, αρχίζει!
eláte ghríghora, archízi
Come quickly, it's starting!
Key Takeaways
- These commands are suppletive — a different word from the present tense — so they must be memorised: έλα, πες, δες, φάε, πιες, βρες, μπες, βγες, ανέβα, κατέβα, κάτσε, δώσε, πάρε.
- The single-syllable family πες / δες / βρες / μπες / βγες shares one shape and one plural pattern in ‑είτε (πείτε, δείτε, βρείτε, μπείτε, βγείτε).
- Έλα fills the gap for έρχομαι, which has no imperative of its own, and doubles as an everyday "come on."
- Every verb has a singular and a plural; the plural is also the polite form to one person (Κάτσε → Καθίστε, Πες → Πείτε).
- Do not regularise them — ×λέξε, ×βλέψε and ×έρχου are not Greek words.
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Start learning Greek →Related Topics
- Irregular Perfective StemsB1 — The commonest Greek verbs — see, say, eat, go, take, find, give, drink, come in, go out — build their perfective stem suppletively, swapping in a whole new form (βλέπω → δω, λέω → πω, τρώω → φάω) instead of adding -σ-. There is no rule; because these are the highest-frequency verbs, memorising the twelve or so pairs is one of the best-value things you can do in Greek.
- 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.
- Irregular and Suppletive AoristsB1 — The dozen aorists you cannot derive and must simply know — είδα, είπα, ήρθα, ήπια, πήγα, βρήκα, μπήκα, βγήκα, πήρα, έφαγα, έδωσα, έμεινα — grouped by their shared shape, and precisely because they belong to Greek's most frequent verbs, the highest-value forms in the whole past tense.