How do I form imperative verbs in Russian?

To form imperative verbs in Russian: 1) Remove the infinitive ending "ть", 2) Add the appropriate imperative ending. For 1st conjugation verbs (-ать, -ять): add й for singular (играй - play!) and йте for plural (играйте). For 2nd conjugation verbs (-ить, -еть): add и for singular (говори - speak!) and ите for plural (говорите).

What are the imperative endings for Russian verbs?

Russian imperative endings depend on verb conjugation: 1st conjugation (-ать, -ять): singular = й (играй), plural = йте (играйте). 2nd conjugation (-ить, -еть): singular = и (говори), plural = ите (говорите). There are exceptions like идти → иди (go!), есть → ешь (eat!), and пить → пей (drink!).

What are common exceptions in Russian imperative forms?

Common exceptions in Russian imperative forms include: идти (to go) → иди (go!), ходить (to walk) → ходи (walk!), есть (to eat) → ешь (eat!), and пить (to drink) → пей (drink!). These don't follow the standard conjugation rules, so they must be memorized. Learning these exceptions is important when you learn Russian grammar.

How do I give negative commands in Russian?

To give negative commands in Russian, add не (don't) before the imperative form. For example: Не показывай (Don't show), Не говори (Don't speak). The negative imperative follows the same conjugation rules as positive commands, just with не added at the beginning.

GrammarBeginner friendly

Using Imperative Forms in Russian

Imperative in Russian: how to give commands, verb conjugation & endings. Essential grammar for learners. Free guide — 4 min read.

BeFluent Team

10 Jan 2026 · ~4 min read

How do you give commands in Russian? Why do Russian verbs end with "й"? These and other questions will be answered today! Let's talk about how to give commands in Russian. If you're just starting your journey to learn Russian or beginning your Russian language learning adventure, make sure to check out our complete beginner's guide first.

1st step - understanding conjugation

For you to understand how to make an imperative form, you have to know how conjugation works in Russian. If you need to review verb conjugation basics, check out our complete guide on Russian verb conjugation, learn about present tense, and see how verbs work in future tense and past tense.

	infinitive
1st - -ать, -ять	играть
2nd - -ить, -еть	говорить

Take a verb - играть

Then, we take away "ть" because it's an ending for infinitives - игра

Then we add whatever ending fits - я играю

And the imperative form will work in the same exact way! We just have other endings that we will need to use.

2nd step - learning imperative conjugation

Now let's learn those endings for imperative forms. We have 2 groups of verbs, and here's how those groups decline to imperative:

	infinitive	singular	plural
1st - -ать, -ять	играть	играй	играйте
2nd - -ить, -еть	говорить	говори	говорите

The highlighted would be the endings for imperative verbs in Russian.

Папа не показывай (показывать) ему дорогу - dad, don't show him the way

and another example:

Мама, купи (купить) мне мороженое - mom, buy me an ice cream.

Hopefully, it's clear on what endings to use, BUT there's always exceptions! If you want to learn this topic more, click on this image and learn with BeFluent!

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3rd step - learning exceptions

Of course, any Russian topic will have exceptions. This is common in Russian grammar - you'll encounter similar exceptions when learning Russian cases and other grammar topics. Here's a short list: