Breakdown of Смотри, не испачкайся, после дождя здесь везде грязь.
не
not
здесь
here
дождь
rain
смотреть
to watch / to look at / make sure (in a warning)
после
after
везде
everywhere
грязь
the mud
испачкаться
to get dirty
Questions & Answers about Смотри, не испачкайся, после дождя здесь везде грязь.
Why is не испачкайся in the perfective aspect? I thought negative imperatives usually take the imperfective.
You are right that negative commands usually take the imperfective when telling someone not to do an intentional action. However, when warning someone not to accidentally do something, you use не plus the perfective imperative. This expresses prevention, meaning 'watch out so you do not...' or 'careful not to...'.
Is the word Смотри required for this type of warning?
It is not strictly required, but it is extremely common. Смотри literally means 'look', but here it acts as a warning tag like 'watch out' or 'mind that'. It is very frequently paired with a negative perfective imperative to set up the warning.
Why is the verb испачкайся reflexive?
The base verb испачкать means to make something else dirty. Because the speaker is warning the person not to get themselves dirty, the reflexive suffix -ся is added.
Why is there no verb in the phrase здесь везде грязь?
In Russian, the present tense of the verb 'to be' is normally omitted. While English requires 'there is mud everywhere here', Russian simply states the location words здесь везде alongside the noun грязь.
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