Questions & Answers about Возьми не этот стакан, а тот.
Why does Russian use не ... а ... here?
This is a very common Russian contrast pattern:
не X, а Y = not X, but Y
So:
Возьми не этот стакан, а тот.
literally: Take not this glass, but that one.
Use а when you are correcting or contrasting one choice with another.
Why is it возьми, not бери?
This is about aspect.
- взять → perfective
- брать → imperfective
The imperative возьми comes from взять and usually means take it / pick it up as a single completed action.
The imperative бери comes from брать and can sound more like:
- take it in a general sense,
- go ahead and take it,
- or something habitual/repeated depending on context.
In this sentence, the speaker is telling someone to choose one specific glass, so возьми is very natural.
Why is it стакан, not стакана?