Warnings (смотри, не)

Warning Against Accidents: смотри, не

Normally, when you tell someone not to do something (a negative command), Russian requires an imperfective verb. However, there is an important exception: warning someone against an accidental action in the near future, such as slipping, falling, or breaking something.

To issue a warning about a potential accident, use the phrase смотри, не (or смотрите, не for plural/formal situations) followed by a perfective command. Because you are warning against a single, sudden event in the future, the perfective aspect is required.

For example, to warn someone about slippery (скользкий) surfaces and dangerous steps (ступенька), you use the perfective verb упасть (to fall).

Dropping and Breaking Things

You will frequently use this construction to help prevent household accidents, like dropping (уронить) or breaking (разбить) items.

Spills, Cuts, and Burns

When you are warning someone about an accident where they might injure themselves, you will use reflexive perfective verbs—verbs that end in -ся or -сь.

For instance, if there is broken glass (стекло) around, you want to warn them not to cut themselves (порезаться).

Likewise, you can warn someone not to spill (пролить) hot liquids to prevent them from burning themselves (обжечься). This is especially useful around boiling water (кипяток).

Remember to use the plural form обожгитесь and the plural смотрите if you are addressing multiple people or speaking formally.