Questions & Answers about Не открывай дверь!
Why do we use the imperfective verb открывай here instead of the perfective открой?
This is a core rule of Russian imperatives! When you tell someone not to do something (a prohibition), you almost always use the imperfective aspect. Even if you mean 'don't open it this one specific time,' the negative word не triggers the imperfective открывай.
The word for door is дверь. Why didn't it change its ending for the accusative case here?
Дверь is a feminine noun that ends in a soft sign (-ь). These belong to the 3rd declension group. For 3rd declension inanimate nouns, the accusative case is identical to the nominative case. So, дверь stays exactly the same when it is the direct object.
How is the imperative form открывай built?
You take the present tense stem of the imperfective verb открывать (to open). The 'they' form is открывают. Drop the -ют, which leaves открыва-. Since it ends in a vowel, you add -й for the informal singular 'you' form, giving us открывай.
If I wanted to say 'Open the door!' (affirmative), what would change?
You would drop the не and switch to the perfective aspect, because you are asking for a single, completed result. The perfective verb is открыть, and its informal imperative is открой. So you would say: Открой дверь!
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