In short

The imperative (tryb rozkazujący) is the mood of commands, requests, advice and instructions: Czytaj! (Read!), Zamknij okno! (Close the window!), Bądźmy cierpliwi. (Let’s be patient.). Polish has direct one-word forms for only three persons - ty, my, wy - and builds the missing persons (the 3rd person, and the polite pan/pani command) with the particle niech. Two things make it Polish: you form it from the present/future stem, not the infinitive, and your choice of aspect changes the meaning - and flips completely under negation.

The rule

The imperative expresses orders, requests and encouragement. Like most languages it drops the subject pronoun, but unlike English it distinguishes singular vs plural addressee and even lets you include yourself (my = “let’s …”).

Build it from the present-tense stem

The base of the imperative is not the infinitive. Take the 3rd person plural of the present tense (for imperfective verbs) or of the simple future (for perfective verbs), strip the ending -ą, and what remains is the ty form:

• oni czytają -> czytaj (read!)
• oni piszą -> pisz (write!)
• oni mówią -> mów (speak!)

Then the other two forms are fully regular:

• my = ty-form + -my: czytajmy (let’s read)
• wy = ty-form + -cie: czytajcie (read! - to several people or politely-plural)

The niech persons: 1sg, 3sg, 3pl

There are no bare one-word forms for ja, on/ona/ono or oni/one. You build them with niech (“let …”) plus the ordinary present/future form:

• niech + 1sg -> Niech pomyślę. (Let me think.)
• niech + 3sg -> Niech zrobi to sam. (Let him do it himself.)
• niech + 3pl -> Niech wejdą. (Let them come in.)

This same niech gives the polite command with pan / pani / państwo (Lesson 8): Niech pan usiądzie. (Please sit down, sir.), Niech pani poczeka. (Please wait, madam.). An even more neutral polite request is proszę + infinitive: Proszę wejść. (Please come in.), Proszę usiąść. (Please sit down.).

Aspect: the choice that carries the meaning

Because Polish has aspect (Lesson 20), the same command has two forms:

• Perfective imperative = do it once, to completion: Zamknij okno! (Close the window - now.)
• Imperfective imperative = do it habitually / continuously / generally, or it is an invitation to start: Zamykaj okno na noc. (Close the window at night - as a rule.)

One rule is non-negotiable: negative commands (prohibitions) normally take the imperfective, whatever the affirmative used. Zrób to! (pf) but Nie rób tego! (ipf, not nie zrób). A perfective negative imperative exists only as a warning (“mind you don’t …”): Nie spóźnij się! (Don’t be late!).

Softening and reinforcing particles

Speech adds little particles. -że / -ż attached to the verb shows impatience or urging: Chodźże! (Come on already!), Powiedzże coś! (Do say something!). no softens or coaxes: Chodź no tu. (Come here, would you.).

Forms & patterns

Regular formation - present 3pl -> the three imperative forms:

Two spelling points visible above: robić -> rób shows o -> ó raising in the now-closed syllable (kept throughout: róbmy, róbcie); and -nąć verbs insert -nij when the bare stem would be an awkward cluster (zamkn- -> zamknij), likewise ciągnąć -> ciągnij, biegnąć -> biegnij.

Common irregular imperatives (learn by heart):

The full six-person system (bare forms for ty/my/wy, niech for the rest), shown with zrobić (pf, to do):

Aspect and negation at a glance:

Examples

Common mistakes

• czytać! (using the infinitive) -> czytaj! - the command is built on the present stem, not the infinitive.
• Niech on zrobić to. -> Niech on to zrobi. - after niech you use a finite present/future form, never the infinitive.
• Nie zrób tego! -> Nie rób tego! - a plain prohibition takes the imperfective, not the perfective.
• Zamykaj okno! meaning one quick action -> Zamknij okno! - for a single completed act use the perfective.
• robmy, robcie -> róbmy, róbcie - the o -> ó raising of rób is kept in all its forms.
• zamknij built as zamkń -> zamknij - -nąć verbs need the inserted -nij.
• Usiądź pan. -> Niech pan usiądzie. / Proszę usiąść. - polite commands use niech + pan/pani or proszę + infinitive, not a bare ty form addressed to pan (that sounds brusque).

Tips

• Two-step recipe for any regular verb: find oni (3pl), chop -ą, and you have ty; add -my / -cie for the other two.
• Remember the split: ty / my / wy are one word; ja / on / ona / oni all go through niech.
• Aspect is meaning, not decoration: perfective = finish it now, imperfective = keep doing it / do it as a habit - and negative = imperfective almost every time.
• The everyday polite imperative is proszę + infinitive (Proszę wejść.); the niech pan / pani form is a touch more direct and personal.
• Sign language: Nie palić!, Nie wychylać się! - public prohibitions on signs use the plain infinitive, a fixed shortcut for the imperative.
• Hear the particle -że (chodźże, dajże) as “come on, …” - it adds urging, not a new form.