This is the workhorse command form — the one you normally reach for when you present the requested action as a bounded task: Write it down. Close the door. Call me. It is built on the perfective stem (the same stem the aorist and the perfective subjunctive use). One on-the-spot task is its most frequent use, but a finite set of repeated tasks can be packaged the same way.
Formation: perfective stem + -ε / -τε
Take the perfective stem — the one you find under the aorist — and add -ε for the singular and -τε for the plural (which, remember, is also the polite singular). For the largest verb class (first conjugation, verbs in -ω), the perfective stem usually ends in -σ, -ξ or -ψ:
| Verb (1st conj.) | 2sg | 2pl / polite |
|---|---|---|
| γράφω (write) | γράψε | γράψτε |
| κλείνω (close) | κλείσε | κλείστε |
| διαβάζω (read) | διάβασε | διαβάστε |
| αγοράζω (buy) | αγόρασε | αγοράστε |
| ανοίγω (open) | άνοιξε | ανοίξτε |
| παίζω (play) | παίξε | παίξτε |
| στέλνω (send) | στείλε | στείλτε |
Κλείσε το φως όταν βγεις από το δωμάτιο.
klíse to fos ótan vyis apó to dhomátio
Turn off the light when you leave the room.
Άνοιξε το παράθυρο, έχει μια ζέστη εδώ μέσα.
ánikse to paráthiro, échi mia zésti edhó mésa
Open the window, it's so hot in here.
Στείλε μου τη διεύθυνση με μήνυμα.
stíle mu ti dhiéfthinsi me mínima
Send me the address by text.
The apparent -στε you see in διαβάστε, κλείστε, αγοράστε is nothing special: it is just a perfective stem already ending in -σ followed by the plural -τε. There is no separate "-στε" ending to memorise.
Second conjugation (verbs in -άω / -ώ)
Regular second-conjugation verbs such as μιλώ, αγαπώ and ρωτώ build their perfective stem in -ησ-, giving -ησε (singular) and -ήστε (plural). Note the stress: it sits back on the singular but jumps to the -ή- in the plural.
| Verb (2nd conj.) | 2sg | 2pl / polite |
|---|---|---|
| μιλώ (speak) | μίλησε | μιλήστε |
| αγαπώ (love) | αγάπησε | αγαπήστε |
| ρωτώ (ask) | ρώτησε | ρωτήστε |
| σταματώ (stop) | σταμάτησε | σταματήστε |
| τηλεφωνώ (phone) | τηλεφώνησε | τηλεφωνήστε |
Μίλησέ του ήρεμα, θα καταλάβει.
mílisé tu írema, tha katalávi
Talk to him calmly, he'll understand.
Ρώτησε τον σερβιτόρο αν έχουν κάτι χωρίς γλουτένη.
rótise ton servitóro an échun káti chorís ghluténi
Ask the waiter if they have anything gluten-free.
Τηλεφώνησέ μου μόλις προσγειωθείς.
tilefónisé mu mólis prozyiothís
Call me the moment you land.
The one rule that catches everyone: no augment
The past tenses add a stressed ε- to the front of short verbs — έγραψα (I wrote), έστειλα (I sent). The imperative never does this. Even though it is built on the same perfective stem, it strips the augment away: γράψε, not ×έγραψε; στείλε, not ×έστειλε. The string έγραψε is a perfectly good word — it means he/she wrote — but it can never be a command.
Γράψε το κάπου, αλλιώς θα το ξεχάσεις.
ghrápse to kápu, aliós tha to ksechásis
Write it down somewhere, otherwise you'll forget it.
Everyday bounded commands
The perfective is the natural default for on-the-spot requests: pass something, take a look, buy something on the way. What unites the examples is not an objective guarantee of completion but the speaker's bounded view of the requested task.
Διάβασε αυτό το γράμμα και πες μου τι νομίζεις.
dhiávase aftó to ghráma ke pes mu ti nomízis
Read this letter and tell me what you think.
Αγόρασε λίγο ψωμί όταν γυρίσεις σπίτι.
aghórase lígho psomí ótan yirísis spíti
Buy some bread on your way home.
Πρόσεξε! Παραλίγο να πέσεις.
prósekse! paralígho na pésis
Watch out! You almost fell.
Πάρε ένα χάπι μετά από κάθε γεύμα για τρεις μέρες.
páre éna chápi metá apó káthe yévma ya tris méres
Take one pill after every meal for three days. (finite series → perfective)
Παίξε μας εκείνο το τραγούδι από την Κρήτη.
pékse mas ekíno to traghúdhi apó tin Kríti
Play us that song from Crete.
The contrast with imperfective Πρόσεχε is not simply "many" versus "one." Πρόσεχε! can be an immediate warning too, especially when the addressee is to remain careful through the present situation; perfective Πρόσεξε! packages the alert as one bounded intervention. That viewpoint choice has its own page: Aspect in the Imperative. The imperfective forms are on Imperfective Imperative.
Do not confuse γράψτε with γράψετε
In the neutral Standard Greek paradigm these are different forms, not long and short versions of one imperative. Γράψτε is the positive perfective imperative ("write!" plural/polite). γράψετε is the 2nd-plural dependent perfective used after a particle: να γράψετε, θα γράψετε. A polite directive can therefore be phrased Να γράψετε το όνομά σας εδώ, but that is a να-clause, not a fuller bare imperative. Teach γράψτε, κλείστε, στείλτε as the direct-command forms.
Common Mistakes
1. Mistaking the past for a command. Έγραψε is grammatical, but only as the indicative "s/he wrote"; the command is γράψε.
Έγραψε το τηλέφωνό σου στο τετράδιο χθες.
éghrapse to tiléfonó su sto tetrádhio chthes
She wrote your phone number in the notebook yesterday. (indicative past)
✅ Γράψε το τηλέφωνό σου εδώ.
ghrápse to tiléfonó su edhó
Write your phone number here.
2. Treating a one-off situation as an automatic perfective switch. An imperfective command can look inside one current occasion; a perfective packages one alert as bounded.
Πρόσεχε το γάλα όσο βράζει.
próseche to ghála óso vrázi
Keep an eye on the milk while it boils. (one unfolding occasion → imperfective)
Πρόσεξε το σκαλοπάτι, γλιστράει.
prósekse to skalopáti, ghlistrái
Watch the step; it's slippery. (bounded alert → perfective)
3. Building the 2nd-conjugation plural from the singular stem. The plural of μιλώ, αγαπώ etc. is -ήστε with the stress on -ή-, not the singular stem plus -τε.
❌ Παρακαλώ, μίληστε πιο δυνατά.
Incorrect — the plural of μιλώ is μιλήστε (stress on -ή-), not μίληστε.
✅ Παρακαλώ, μιλήστε πιο δυνατά.
parakaló, milíste pio dhinatá
Please speak a bit louder.
4. Treating the polite plural as grammatical agreement rather than register. Singular is natural with someone addressed familiarly; plural is the safe courteous choice with an unfamiliar adult.
Νίκο, κλείσε την τηλεόραση, ξεκινάει η ταινία.
Níko, klíse tin tileórasi, ksekinái i tenía
Nikos, turn off the TV; the film is starting. (familiar singular)
Κύριε Παπαδόπουλε, κλείστε την τηλεόραση, ξεκινάει η ταινία.
kírie Papadhópule, klíste tin tileórasi, ksekinái i tenía
Mr Papadopoulos, turn off the TV; the film is starting. (polite plural)
Key Takeaways
- The perfective imperative presents a requested action or finite series as bounded; it is the normal form for many everyday on-the-spot tasks.
- Formation: perfective stem + -ε (sg) / -τε (pl) — γράψε/γράψτε, μίλησε/μιλήστε.
- The visible -στε (διαβάστε) is just a stem in -σ plus -τε; there is nothing extra to learn.
- No augment, ever: γράψε, not ×έγραψε — the augment marks past time and a command is not past.
- The plural -τε form doubles as the polite singular; use it for strangers and groups.
Related Topics
- 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 with the bounded perfective.
- Aspect in the ImperativeB1 — Where a verb supplies the contrast, Greek commands carry aspect too: the perfective imperative (γράψε, κλείσε, φάε) packages an instruction as a bounded whole, while the imperfective imperative (γράφε, πρόσεχε, να τρως) presents an activity internally or as an open habit.
- Irregular ImperativesB1 — The dozen suppletive commands you cannot derive and simply have to know — έλα, πες, δες, φάε, πιες, βρες, μπες, βγες, ανέβα, κατέβα, κάτσε — with both the singular and the plural for each.