Learn Polish: Przestań rozmawiać i słuchaj!

For many verbs ending in -ać, you form the informal singular command (giving an order to one person) by dropping the final -ć and adding -j. So, słuchać (to listen) becomes słuchaj (listen!).

Where does the -ń in przestań come from?

The verb przestać (to stop) has a slightly irregular stem. To form its imperative, we use the stem przesta- and add -ń, making przestań (stop!). You will see this -ń ending in the imperative forms of a few other common verbs, like zostań (stay!).

Why is rozmawiać in the infinitive? Shouldn't it be a command too?

Just like in English, when a command involves two actions where one controls the other (like "stop doing something"), the second verb stays in its dictionary form (the infinitive). So we use the command przestań (stop!) followed by the infinitive rozmawiać (to talk).

How would I say this to a group of people?

To give a command to two or more people, you usually just add -cie to the singular command form. Przestań becomes przestańcie, and słuchaj becomes słuchajcie. So the plural sentence is: Przestańcie rozmawiać i słuchajcie!