When you need to ask someone to do something—like hand you a menu or wait a moment—you use the imperative mood. To keep things polite, always pair your request with the magic word:
The Polite Imperative
When addressing someone formally or speaking to multiple people (the вы form), the imperative ends in -те. To form it, look at the base stem of the verb.
| Verb Stem Ends In | Informal (ты) | Formal / Plural (вы) |
|---|
| Vowel | -й | -йте |
| Consonant | -и | -ите |
For example, if the stem ends in a vowel (like дай-), add -йте to make дайте. If it ends in a consonant (like возьм-), add -ите to make возьмите.
Let's look at some helpful requests you can use in restaurants or shops:
Everyday Instructions
You will also hear these forms used as polite instructions or directions. Notice how the rule applies to other common verbs you will encounter on the street or in the classroom:
When you are speaking to a friend, a family member, or a child (someone you address with the informal ты), forming the command is simple: just drop the -те from the end of the polite form.
Your imperative will now end in either -й or -и, depending on whether the stem ends in a vowel or consonant, just as shown in the table above.
