In short

Greek gives orders with a real imperative form, and — as everywhere else in the verb — you must first choose an aspect. The perfective imperative γράψε asks for one completed act (“write it, now”); the continuous imperative γράφε asks for a habit or an ongoing activity (“keep writing”). Each has a singular for εσύ and a plural in -τε that doubles as the polite form for εσείς.

There is no negative imperative at all. To forbid something you use μη or μην plus the ordinary second person of the verb: μη γράφεις, μην το κάνεις. The imperative form itself never appears after μη(ν).

The weak (clitic) pronouns then sit on opposite sides of the verb: they follow a positive imperative (πάρε το, δώσε μού το) and precede the verb in a negative command (μη μου το λες). When a clitic follows, the group is treated as one word for stress, so a proparoxytone imperative picks up a second accent: κοίταξε → κοίταξέ με.

The rule

1. Two aspects, two imperatives. The perfective imperative is built on the perfective (aorist) stem, the continuous imperative on the present stem. Choose exactly as you chose after θα and να:

• perfective = a single, bounded act: Άνοιξε το παράθυρο. (open it once, now)
• continuous = a standing instruction, a habit, a repeated or ongoing action: Άνοιγε το παράθυρο κάθε πρωί. (make a habit of it)

2. The endings. Singular is stem + -ε; plural is stem + -τε for the perfective, and simply the 2nd person plural present for the continuous.

Where the perfective stem ends in -σ-, the plural ending fuses with it: διαβάσ- + -τε → διαβάστε, μίλησ- + -τε → μιλήστε. A longer plural in -ετε (γράψετε, διαβάσετε) exists and is not wrong, but the short -τε form is the everyday one.

3. Stress. The singular pulls the accent as far back as the three-syllable rule allows (διάβασε, μίλησε), while the short plural is a contraction of the longer -ετε form and keeps that form’s accent (διαβάσετε → διαβάστε). So the accent often moves between singular and plural: διάβασε → διαβάστε, μίλησε → μιλήστε, ρώτησε → ρωτήστε.

4. Only the second person. There is no 1st or 3rd person imperative. Greek uses ας or να + subjunctive instead: ας γράψουμε “let’s write”, να περάσει “let him come in”.

5. Negation: μη(ν) + ordinary second person. The imperative has no negative counterpart, so the negative command borrows the plain second-person verb form — but you still choose the aspect:

• μη γράφεις (continuous: stop / don’t be writing / never write)
• μη γράψεις (perfective: don’t write it, this once)

μη keeps its final -ν before a vowel and before κ, π, τ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ, ξ, ψ, and loses it elsewhere — the same rule as the article and δε(ν): μην το κάνεις, μην τρέχεις, μην ξεχάσεις, but μη μιλάς, μη γράφεις, μη φεύγεις.

6. Pronoun placement. In a positive command the weak pronoun comes after the verb and leans on it; in a negative command it comes between μη(ν) and the verb:

• πάρε το → μην το παίρνεις
• κοίταξέ με → μη με κοιτάς
• δώσε μού το → μη μου το δίνεις

7. The second accent. Verb + clitic is pronounced as a single word, and that word may not be stressed further back than its third syllable from the end. So an imperative stressed on its antepenult takes an extra accent on its last syllable when a clitic follows (κοίταξε → κοίταξέ με, διάβασε → διάβασέ το), and a two-syllable imperative followed by two clitics puts the extra accent on the first clitic (δώσε + μου + το → δώσε μού το). In speech the vowel often drops altogether, and then the group is short enough to need no second accent: δώσ’ μου το, φέρ’ το, άσ’ το.

Forms & patterns

The four imperative cells of a regular verb

περιμένω is a useful reminder that a few verbs have the same stem for both aspects, so the two imperatives coincide.

Irregular imperatives — learn them as pairs

The negative command

Where the pronoun goes

The persons the imperative does not have

Examples

Common mistakes

• μην γράψε -> μη γράψεις — Greek has no negative imperative; after μη(ν) you use the ordinary second person, never the imperative form.
• μη το κάνεις -> μην το κάνεις — μη keeps its -ν before a vowel and before κ, π, τ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ, ξ, ψ, and το begins with τ.
• μου δώσε -> δώσε μου — after a positive imperative the weak pronoun follows the verb; it can never stand in front of it.
• μην δώσε μου το -> μη μου το δίνεις — once the command is negative, the pronouns jump back in front of the verb, between μη(ν) and the verb.
• Γράφεις μου ένα μήνυμα. -> Γράψε μου ένα μήνυμα. — the plain present is a statement or a question, not an order; use the imperative form.
• κοίταξε με -> κοίταξέ με — a verb stressed on the third syllable from the end takes a second accent on its last syllable when a clitic follows.
• δώσε μου το -> δώσε μού το — with two clitics after a two-syllable imperative the extra accent lands on the first clitic.
• διαβάσε το κείμενο -> διάβασε το κείμενο — the perfective singular of διαβάζω is stressed on the antepenult; only the plural moves the accent (διαβάστε).
• Μην περίμενε -> Μην περιμένεις — again, no imperative form after μην.
• Γράψτε μου, Μαρία, είσαι φίλη μου. -> Γράψε μου, Μαρία… — the -τε form is plural or polite; to one friend use the singular.

Tips

• Ask yourself “once, or as a rule?” before you open your mouth: γράψε for a single act, γράφε for a standing instruction. Recipes, exercise routines and safety signs live in the continuous; ordinary requests are perfective.
• The plural is also the polite singular. To a stranger, a shop assistant or a class you say Περάστε, Καθίστε, Πείτε μου — never the εσύ form.
• The commonest verbs are exactly the irregular ones. Drill πες/πείτε, δες/δείτε, έλα/ελάτε, πάρε/πάρτε, φάε/φάτε, βρες/βρείτε as pairs, not one form at a time.
• Bare imperatives sound blunt. Soften them with παρακαλώ, σε παρακαλώ / σας παρακαλώ, λίγο or a diminutive: Έλα λίγο εδώ. Δώσε μου ένα λεπτάκι.
• For stress, say the verb and its pronouns as one word and count back three syllables. If the accent falls outside that window, add a second accent (κοίταξέ με, δώσε μού το).
• Remember the mirror: positive = verb + pronoun, negative = μη(ν) + pronoun + verb. If you can only recall one, recall πάρε το ↔ μην το παίρνεις.
• For persons other than “you”, switch to ας or να: ας φύγουμε, να έρθει κι αυτός.