Giving Direct Instructions

Level 2

Čitaj addresses one familiar person, čitajte addresses several people or one person politely, and čitajmo means let us read.

How It Works

For čitati, learn čitaj, čitajmo, čitajte. For pisati, the series is piši, pišimo, pišite. Adding -te gives the plural or polite form, but the singular stem must be right first.

Some frequent verbs are irregular: budi from biti and idi from ići. A polite request can add molim vas, though the situation and tone still affect how direct it sounds.

The productive simple imperative has second-person singular and first- and second-person plural forms. For a third-person instruction, Croatian uses neka with a finite verb: Neka dođe. Negative commands and aspect choice are taught separately.

Examples (4)

  1. Čitaj polako.

    Read slowly.

    Čitaj addresses one familiar person.

  2. Pišite ovdje, molim vas.

    Please write here.

    Pišite is plural or polite.

  3. Čitajmo zajedno.

    Let us read together.

    Čitajmo includes the speaker.

  4. Budi pažljiv.

    Be careful.

    Budi is the imperative of biti; pažljiv addresses a male.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Giving Direct InstructionsLevel 2

Learn This First

Commands distinguish the addressee and inclusive plural forms without copying indicative endings.