Prototypical meaning of the imperative is an order, for example:
Otvori vrata ‘Open the door’
Atypical meanings
The following two atypical meanings of the imperative can be found:
| Meaning |
Example |
Translation |
| Past event |
Oni udri na nas |
‘They have attacked us’ |
| Gnomic truth |
Traži i naći ćeš |
‘Look for it and you will find it’ |
The Imperative engages in number and person paradigm. It is formed from the Present Tense as follows.
| Singular |
Plural |
|
| First |
(3rd Person Plural Present Tense – last vowel) + mo/imo1 |
|
| Second |
(3rd Person Plural Present Tense – last vowel) + 0/i 1 |
(3rd Person Plural Present Tense – last vowel) + te/ite1 |
| Third |
neka + 3rd Person Singular Present Tense |
neka + 3rd Person Plural Present Tense |
1 If j remains at the end when the final vowel is removed, the endings are: 0, mo, te; or else the are: i, imo, ite.
‘they read’ oni čitaju – u = čitaj (čitaj, čitajmo, čitajte) vs.
‘they write’ oni pišu – u = piš (piši, pišimo, pišite)
The imperative has only one negative form, which is formed by adding the particle ne to the verb, e.g. ne čitaj ‘do not read’, neka ne čita ‘let him not work’, etc.
| Person |
Positive |
Regular Negative Form |
Alternative Negative Form |
| Second Sg |
[verb] |
ne [verb] |
nemoj [verb] |
| radi |
ne radi |
nemoj raditi |
|
| First Pl |
[verb] |
ne [verb] |
nemojmo [verb] |
| radimo |
ne radimo |
nemojmo raditi |
|
| Second Pl |
[verb] |
ne [verb] |
nemojte [verb] |
| radite |
ne radite |
nemojte raditi |
[verb] means ‘finite verb form, auxiliary or full’