Breakdown of Никогда не нажимай эту кнопку.
не
not
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
никогда
never
кнопка
button
нажимать
to press (imperfective)
Questions & Answers about Никогда не нажимай эту кнопку.
Why is нажимай in the imperfective aspect here?
When you tell someone not to do something (a prohibition), Russian almost always uses the imperfective aspect. Even if you are talking about one specific action, the negative command не нажимай (do not press) requires the imperfective form.
Why do we need не before the verb if the sentence already says никогда (never)?
Russian uses double negatives! When you use a negative word like никогда (never), никто (nobody), or ничего (nothing), you must still put не right in front of the verb. Literally, it translates to 'Never do not press.'
How is the command form нажимай built from the dictionary form нажимать?
To make an informal command for 'you' (ты), we usually look at the 'they' form in the present tense: они нажимают. Drop the -ют ending to get the stem нажима-. Since it ends in a vowel, you just add -й to make нажимай.
Why is it эту кнопку instead of эта кнопка?
The button is the direct object of the sentence—it's the thing receiving the action of being pressed. Because of this, it must be in the accusative case. The feminine phrase эта кнопка changes its -а endings to -у, becoming эту кнопку.
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