Affirmative Commands
To tell someone to do a specific action, use an affirmative command. For one-time tasks and instructions, use the perfective aspect.
| Open the window, please! | Открой окно, пожалуйста! |
| Put on the helmet, this is a dangerous place. | Надень шлем, это опасное место. |
Negative Commands (Prohibitions)
To tell someone not to do something, use не (not) followed by a verb in the imperfective aspect. Even for a single, specific event, prohibitions almost always switch to the imperfective.
| Do not open the door! | Не открывай дверь! |
Aspect Switch in Safety Instructions
Safety instructions often switch between aspects: perfective to instruct an action, and imperfective to forbid it.
| Press the red button. | Нажми красную кнопку. |
| Do not press this button! | Не нажимай эту кнопку! |
The same pattern applies to crossing the street or road.
| Cross the road here. | Перейди дорогу здесь. |
| Do not cross the street here! | Не переходи улицу здесь! |
Continuous States and Formal Commands
Verbs describing ongoing actions or emotional states (like standing or being afraid) are imperfective by nature. Simply precede them with не for negative commands.
| Do not stand near the fire! | Не стой около огня! |
| Do not be afraid, it is just fire. | Не бойся, это просто огонь. |
When giving a command to multiple people (or speaking formally to one person), add -те to the end of the imperative form, regardless of the aspect.
| Don't stand here, cross the street! | Не стойте здесь, перейдите улицу! |
