In short

The imperative mood (наказо́вий спо́сіб) is how Ukrainian gives orders, requests, and invitations: do it, write, let’s go. Unlike English, which has a single bare form (“Read!”), Ukrainian chooses among three forms depending on who you are talking to:

• ти form — one person you address informally: роби́ “do”;
• ви form — one person you address politely, or several people: робі́ть “do”;
• ми form — “let’s …”, an invitation that includes you: зробі́мо “let’s do”.

All three are built from the present/future stem, and a soft будь ла́ска (“please”) turns any of them into a polite request.

The rule

1. Find the stem. Take the third-person plural of the present (imperfective) or simple-future (perfective) verb and drop the ending: чита́ють → чита́й-, пи́шуть → пиш-, ро́блять → роб’-.

2. Build the ти form with one of three endings:

That zero ending takes a soft sign or nothing, by the consonant it lands on: ь after д, т, з, с, л, н (сядь, встань, пові́сь, дозво́ль); nothing after a labial (б, п, в, м, ф) or р (поста́в, переві́р, наси́п); nothing after ж, ч, ш, щ (ріж, ляж) — never поста́вь, never переві́рь.

3. Build ви and ми from the ти form:

• ви = ти form + -те; after a stressed -и́ the two fuse: -и́ + -те → -і́ть: чита́й → чита́йте, роби́ → робі́ть.
• ми = ти form + -мо; a final -и softens to -і: чита́й → чита́ймо, роби́ → робі́мо.

4. Third-person “let …” is analytic: неха́й (or shorter хай) + the present/future form — Неха́й вона́ відпочи́не “Let her rest”.

Forms & patterns

Core paradigm — every verb has exactly these three cells:

A few high-frequency verbs with an irregular or contracted ти form:

Perfective vs imperfective — same slots, different focus:

Examples

Common mistakes

• Ви ро́бите! (as a command) -> Робі́ть! — the command form is робі́ть, not the present-tense ро́бите (“you are doing”).
• хо́димо (as “let’s go”) -> ході́мо — the “let’s” form shifts stress and vowel; the present хо́димо just states a fact.
• Не зачини́ две́рі -> Не зачиня́й две́рі — prohibitions normally use the imperfective, not the perfective.
• Не хвилю́й! -> Не хвилю́йся! — reflexive verbs keep -ся in the imperative; dropping it changes the meaning.
• Сядь! (to a stranger) -> Сіда́йте, будь ла́ска — use the ви form plus будь ласка when politeness is due; an invitation also prefers the imperfective сіда́йте to the blunt perfective ся́дьте.

Tips

• Default to the ви form with anyone you address as ви; adding будь ла́ска softens any command into a polite request.
• The -мо form is your ready-made “let’s …”: ході́мо, зробі́мо, почні́мо, танцю́ймо.
• Choose aspect by meaning: perfective for one completed result (Зачини́ вікно́!), imperfective for a process, habit, or general rule (Чита́й щодня́).
• Negative commands almost always take the imperfective: не роби́, не заходь, не бі́йся.
• Keep -ся / -сь on reflexive verbs: одяга́йся, не хвилю́йся, посміхні́ться.
• For “let him / her / them …”, use неха́й (or хай) + present/future: Неха́й ска́жуть пра́вду.
• Stress tends to fall on the ending in -и verbs (роби́, скажи́, принеси́) but stays on the stem in zero-ending verbs (сядь, встань, будь).