This is the workhorse command form — the one you reach for when you want someone to do something once and complete it: Write it down. Close the door. Call me. It is built on the perfective stem (the same stem the aorist and the aorist subjunctive use), and for most learners it is the first imperative worth drilling to automaticity, because it covers the great majority of everyday requests.
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)
Second-conjugation verbs (μιλώ, αγαπώ, 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 one-shot commands
Because the perfective means "do it and finish," it is the natural form for on-the-spot requests: pass something, take a look, buy something on the way. Notice how each one describes a single completed act.
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.
Κόψε την τούρτα σε οκτώ κομμάτια.
kópse tin túrta se októ komátia
Cut the cake into eight pieces.
Παίξε μας εκείνο το τραγούδι από την Κρήτη.
pékse mas ekíno to traghúdhi apó tin Kríti
Play us that song from Crete.
Note the contrast with the imperfective Πρόσεχε (a standing warning, "always be careful") versus the perfective Πρόσεξε here — a single "look out right now." That choice is the heart of the imperative, and it has its own page: Aspect in the Imperative. The continuous counterpart is on Imperfective Imperative.
A note on the fuller plural (γράψετε)
You will also meet the fuller form γράψετε alongside contracted γράψτε. Both are correct; the contracted -τε form (γράψτε, κλείστε, στείλτε) dominates everyday speech, while the fuller -ετε form feels a touch more careful or formal. Neither is wrong. Be aware, though, that γράψετε is spelled identically to the dependent form used after θα/να (θα γράψετε, "you will write"), so context tells you which is meant.
Common Mistakes
1. Carrying the augment into the command. The imperative is built from the bare perfective stem with no ε-.
❌ Έγραψε το τηλέφωνό σου εδώ.
Incorrect as a command — έγραψε is the past 'he wrote'; the imperative has no augment: Γράψε.
✅ Γράψε το τηλέφωνό σου εδώ.
ghrápse to tiléfonó su edhó
Write your phone number here.
2. Using the present form for a one-off request. The perfective is for a single, completed act; the present (imperfective) stem signals "keep doing it."
❌ Κλείνε την πόρτα, φεύγουμε τώρα.
Incorrect for a single act now — the present-stem κλείνε means 'keep closing it'; use the perfective: Κλείσε.
✅ Κλείσε την πόρτα, φεύγουμε τώρα.
klíse tin pórta, févghume tóra
Close the door, we're leaving now.
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. Using the singular command for a stranger or a group. The plural/polite form is the courteous choice.
❌ Κύριε, κλείσε την τηλεόραση, ξεκινάει η ταινία.
Incorrect to a stranger — use the plural/polite: κλείστε.
✅ Κύριε, κλείστε την τηλεόραση, ξεκινάει η ταινία.
kírie, klíste tin tileórasi, ksekinái i tenía
Sir, turn off the TV, the film's starting.
Key Takeaways
- The perfective imperative means do it once and finish; it is the default everyday command.
- 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.
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Start learning Greek →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 throughout with the one-shot perfective.
- Aspect in the ImperativeB1 — Greek commands carry aspect too: the perfective imperative (γράψε, κλείσε, φάε) tells someone to do one thing now, while the imperfective imperative (γράφε, πρόσεχε, να τρως) tells them to do it habitually, continuously, or as a standing rule. This distinction is almost never taught to English speakers — here it is, with the Πες μου / Λέγε contrast at its centre.
- 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.