Negative Commands and 'let's / let him' | Serbian Grammar

Serbian has more than one way to tell someone not to act, and it also distinguishes direct “let’s” proposals from third-person “let him/her/them” instructions. The central patterns are не + imperative, немој + infinitive / да + present, хајде да + present, and нека + present. They overlap, but their person, aspect, and pragmatic force are not interchangeable.

Direct prohibitions with не + imperative

Put не before an imperative to prohibit or stop an action. With an imperfective verb, the command commonly means “do not do this” or “stop/avoid this activity.”

Не дирај кабл док не искључим струју.

Don't touch the cable until I switch off the power.

Не причајте док колегиница излаже резултате.

Do not talk while our colleague is presenting the results. (plural or polite)

Perfective negative imperatives are also normal when the speaker warns against one unwanted outcome: не заборави, не закасни, не испусти. Therefore, the rule is not “a negative imperative must be imperfective.” Aspect changes the viewpoint: avoiding an activity versus preventing a single result.

Не заборави да понесеш пасош и потврду резервације.

Don't forget to bring your passport and booking confirmation.

Не просипај воду по паркету.

Don't spill water all over the parquet. (avoid the activity/repeated spilling)

💡

Use the imperfective naturally for a general ban or activity in progress, but keep common preventive perfectives such as не заборави and не закасни. Aspect expresses how the danger is viewed, not grammatical positivity or negativity.

Немој: the most flexible negative command

Немој has its own address forms:

Addressee	Form	Example frame
ти	немој	немој каснити / немој да касниш
ми	немојмо	немојмо журити / немојмо да журимо
ви / Ви	немојте	немојте улазити / немојте да улазите

It combines either with an infinitive or with да + present. Both are standard Serbian. Да + present is particularly frequent in the everyday Ekavian baseline, while the infinitive is concise and common in instructions and throughout Serbian usage.

Немој да ме чекаш испред зграде; наћи ћемо се у кафићу.

Don't wait for me in front of the building; we'll meet in the café.

Немојте остављати личне ствари без надзора.

Do not leave personal belongings unattended. (public/formal instruction)

With clitics, немој supplies the first stressed word. Pronoun clitics follow it before an infinitive, or they follow да in its clause:

Немој ми то говорити пред децом.

Don't tell me that in front of the children.

Немој да му га шаљеш док не проверимо адресу.

Don't send it to him until we check the address.

Немој often sounds less abrupt than a bare negative imperative, but intonation and context still matter. Немој! can be a sharp warning, while Немој, молим те is a plea.

For the wider placement rules for не and fused negative forms, see Negating Verbs.

“Let's”: first-person proposals

Serbian has two central ways to propose joint action. The first-person plural imperative is compact: кренимо, почнимо, погледајмо. Хајде да + first-person plural present is extremely common in conversation: хајде да кренемо.

Погледајмо најпре шта пише у уговору.

Let's first look at what the contract says.

Хајде да позовемо Ану пре него што купимо карте.

Let's call Ana before we buy the tickets.

The shorter ајде is informal and widespread in speech. Хајдемо can stand alone as “let's go,” while хајдемо да... also introduces a proposal. The negative equivalents are немојмо + infinitive and немојмо да + present.

Немојмо да доносимо одлуку пре него што чујемо обе стране.

Let's not make a decision before we hear both sides.

English “let us” can be either a proposal or a request for permission. Serbian separates them. Хајде да уђемо proposes entering together; пустите нас да уђемо asks someone to allow us in.

Нека + present: indirect commands and permission

Нека followed by a present-tense verb supplies what the direct imperative lacks: a third-person instruction, wish, or permission. The verb agrees with the person meant to act.

Meaning	Serbian
let him come in	нека уђе
let her wait	нека сачека
let them decide	нека одлуче
let them not enter	нека не улазе

Нека Милан уђе први, а остали нека сачекају у ходнику.

Let Milan go in first, and let the others wait in the corridor.

Ако не жели да разговара, нека иде кући.

If he does not want to talk, let him go home.

Depending on context, нека can sound like an instruction passed through someone else, permission, resignation, or a wish. Нека проба may mean “have him try,” “let him try,” or “he can try.” English “let” therefore does not determine one Serbian translation by itself.

Negation belongs before the present verb, not before нека: нека не долази. The particle нека remains unchanged for gender and number.

Нека не померају столове док не стигне организаторка.

Tell them not to move the tables until the organiser arrives.

💡

Use хајде да + ми or a first-person plural imperative for a shared proposal. Use нека + third-person present when someone else is to act. English “let” hides that person distinction.

Aspect and complements in indirect commands

Aspect keeps its ordinary contribution. Нека прочита извештај requests one completed reading; нека чита извештај places the person in the activity or permits it to continue.

Нека прочита цео извештај па нека нам јави шта мисли.

Have her read the whole report and then tell us what she thinks.

Нека чита у дневној соби ако му је тамо мирније.

Let him read in the living room if it is quieter for him there.

Government also stays unchanged: јавити некоме takes dative, чекати некога accusative, and разговарати са неким instrumental after са. Negative or indirect mood does not license an English-style bare object or infinitive.

Affirmative, negative, and question set

Compare three different clause types with the same situation:

Позови Јелену после састанка.

Call Jelena after the meeting. (affirmative imperative)

Немој да зовеш Јелену док је на састанку.

Don't call Jelena while she is in a meeting. (negative command)

Да ли да позовем Јелену после састанка?

Should I call Jelena after the meeting? (question asking for instruction)

The question uses да ли да + present, not a special interrogative imperative. Serbian often asks Да ли да...? or simply Да...? when the speaker wants guidance about their own action.

Practice Tasks

Task 1: Choose the prohibition

Express “don't touch it,” “don't forget the key,” and “don't leave your bags unattended.” Decide between не + imperative and немој/немојте, and explain what aspect contributes.

Task 2: Identify who acts

Translate “let's wait,” “let him wait,” “let them not wait outside,” and “allow us to wait here.” Use four distinct structures and identify the subject of each finite verb.

Common Mistakes

❌ Немој да касниште на састанак.

Incorrect — after немој, да + present must agree with singular ти: касниш.

✅ Немој да касниш на састанак.

Don't be late for the meeting.

❌ Немојте да ући без позива.

Incorrect — да requires a present-tense form, уђете, not an infinitive.

✅ Немојте да уђете без позива.

Do not go in without an invitation. (plural or polite)

❌ Нека нека они сачекају напољу.

Incorrect — one нека is enough; the plural present сачекају marks the actors.

✅ Нека они сачекају напољу.

Let them wait outside.

❌ Хајде да идете кући!

Incorrect for the intended shared proposal — after хајде да, use first-person plural идемо when the speaker is included.

✅ Хајде да идемо кући!

Let's go home!

❌ Немој га ми слати док не проверимо адресу.

Incorrect clitic order — dative ми must precede accusative га.

✅ Немој ми га слати док не проверимо адресу.

Don't send it to me until we check the address.

Key Takeaways

Не + imperative makes a direct prohibition; немој + infinitive / да + present is more flexible.
Both the infinitive and да + present are standard after немој.
Хајде да + ми and the first-person plural imperative express “let's.”
Нека + present gives an indirect command, permission, wish, or resignation concerning another person.

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