Aspect in Commands
In Croatian, verbal aspect plays a key role when giving commands. As a rule of thumb:
- Positive commands (telling someone to do something) typically use a perfective verb to focus on the completed result.
- Negative commands (telling someone not to do something) require an imperfective verb to forbid the action entirely.
Forming Negative Commands
There are two common ways to form a negative command. Both methods use an imperfective verb:
- ne
- imperative
- nemoj, nemojmo, or nemojte
- infinitive
| Do not open that door! | Ne otvaraj ta vrata! |
| Do not open the windows and do not close the door! | Nemojte otvarati prozore i nemojte zatvarati vrata! |
| Do not give it to him! | Nemoj mu ga davati! |
Contrasting Aspects
When giving a sequence of instructions, you will frequently mix aspects depending on whether the command is positive or negative. Notice how positive commands use perfective forms, while negative commands switch to imperfective forms.
| Turn off the television, but do not turn on the computer! | Ugasite televizor, ali nemojte paliti računalo! |
| Close the window and do not turn off the television! | Zatvori prozor i ne gasi televizor! |
This aspect rule applies even when you are instructing someone about the exact same action. The positive command takes the perfective pair, and the negative command takes the imperfective pair.
| Forget the problem, but do not forget the rule! | Zaboravite problem, ali ne zaboravljajte pravilo! |
| Answer me immediately, do not answer tomorrow! | Odgovori mi odmah, ne odgovaraj sutra! |
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