Learn Hardcore Russian: Повелительное наклонение несовершенного вида обычно оканчивается на –й и подчёркивает процесс, например: читай книгу. - The imperfective imperative usually ends with –й and emphasizes the process; for example: read the book start and keep reading.

Несовершенного вида literally means “of the imperfective aspect.” In Russian, the imperfective aspect describes an action as ongoing, repeated, habitual or incomplete. The perfective aspect (совершенный вид), by contrast, presents an action as completed, focused on the result. For example, читать (imperfective) means “to be reading/keep reading,” whereas прочитать (perfective) means “to read (to the end).”

Why does the imperfective imperative usually end in -й?

Historically, Russian marks the second‐person singular imperative of imperfective verbs with the suffix -й. Grammatically, you take the second‐person singular present‐tense stem (the form ending in -ешь/ёшь) and replace -ешь/ёшь with -й. So они читают → ты читаешь → читай. This -й signals that you’re commanding someone to engage in the ongoing process.

How exactly do I form the singular familiar (ты) imperative of an imperfective verb?

Identify the verb’s present‐tense 2nd‐person singular form (ты).
Remove the ending -ешь/ёшь (1st conjugation) or -ишь (2nd conjugation).
If it’s 1st conjugation, add -й; if it’s 2nd conjugation, you usually leave the stem as is (it already ends in -и).
Examples:
• 1st conjugation: делаешь → делай
• 2nd conjugation: говоришь → говори

Are there any exceptions to the -й ending rule?

Yes. Some verbs are irregular or have stem changes:
• дать → давай (instead of дай)
• есть → ешь (already ends in -шь, no -й)
Also, many verbs ending in -ить form the imperative directly on the stem (спринтить → спринти is rare but follows the pattern). Always check a good dictionary for truly irregular forms.

How do I form the plural or polite (вы) imperative?

Simply add -те to the singular imperfective imperative:
• читай → читайте (“you all read” or formal “please read”)
• делай → делайте
If the singular is irregular (e.g., давай), you get давайте.

What nuance does the imperfective imperative convey versus the perfective?

An imperfective imperative like читай книгу highlights the activity itself—“start/keep reading the book,” possibly for a while or repeatedly. A perfective imperative like прочитай книгу demands completion—“read the book through to the end.”

How can I tell if a verb is imperfective so I know which imperative to use?

• Many Russian imperfective verbs end in -ать, -ять, -ить, -еть in their infinitive form (e.g., писать, забывать, смотреть).
• Some verbs come in pairs (imperfective + perfective) with prefixes or suffix alternations: писать/написать, читать/прочитать.
• If no perfective partner exists, it may be a purely imperfective verb (e.g., касаться).

What about reflexive verbs—how do I form their imperfective imperatives?

Use the same -й rule on the non‐reflexive stem, then add -ся (or -сь after a vowel):
• одеваться → одевайся (“get dressed”)
• улыбаться → улыбайся (“smile”)
• учиться → учись (“study/learn”)

Can I soften an imperative with пожалуйста or another particle?

Absolutely. To make a command more polite or friendly, you can add пожалуйста before or after the imperative:
• Читай книгу, пожалуйста! (“Please read the book.”)
• Пожалуйста, делайте уроки. (“Please do your homework.”)
Other particles like -ка can make it colloquial: читай-ка.