-kaa/-kää

Plural Imperative (-kaa/-kää)

Level 2

The plural imperative is used for 'you all' commands (e.g., 'Sit down!') and for polite formal address to one person. It is formed by adding -kaa/-kää to the appropriate imperative stem.

How It Works

The plural imperative is the standard way to address multiple people or to show respect to a single person (teitittely).

Formation Rules:

Verb Type 1: Remove the final vowel and add -kaa/-kää (the stem naturally remains in the strong grade). Example: ottaa → ottakaa.
Verb Type 2: Remove -da/-dä and add -kaa/-kää. Example: syödä → syökää.
Verb Type 3: Find the consonant stem (by removing the infinitive ending -la/-lä, -na/-nä, -ra/-rä, -ta/-tä) and add -kaa/-kää. Example: tulla → tulkaa or olla → olkaa.
Verb Type 4, 5, 6: Remove the final -a/-ä and add -kaa/-kää. Example: haluta → halutkaa; valita → valitkaa.

The Negative Form:
To tell a group not to do something, use the negative verb älkää followed by the same stem used for the positive plural imperative and the ending -ko/-kö (e.g., älkää menkö, älkää syökö).

Object Case Rule:
A key rule for both singular and plural imperatives is that the singular total object usually takes the nominative (basic) form instead of the genitive -n. For example: Ostakaa kirja! (Buy the book!) vs. Ostan kirjan (I buy the book). Plural objects still take the -t ending. Personal pronouns are an exception and always keep their special -t ending: Ottakaa hänet! or Kutsukaa minut! Partitive objects remain partitive in the imperative (e.g., Juokaa maitoa!). In negative commands, the object MUST always be in the partitive case (e.g., Älkää ostako kirjaa!).

Usage Nuance:
While it is a 'command' form, it is the neutral and expected form in signs or service situations. To make it softer, you can add kiitos (thank you). When using 'please', olkaa hyvä is the standard, established form for addressing both a single person formally and a group (though olkaa hyvät is grammatically possible for a group, it is considered slightly old-fashioned). Another core and natural way to soften commands in Finnish is by attaching the clitics -pa/-pä or -han/-hän to the verb (e.g., Ottakaapa, Tulkaahan).

The Addressee
This is the te command form, used for several listeners or respectful address to one person. Te itself is normally omitted. In informal usage you may encounter Älkää menkää, with the positive ending extended to a negative command. The standard form taught here is Älkää menkö: älkää carries the person marking, and the main verb ends in -ko/-kö.

Examples (5)

Olkaa hyvä ja istukaa.
Please, sit down (addressing a group or being formal).
Word by Word: Be good and sit.
This is the standard polite way to invite someone to sit. Note that both olla and istua take the plural imperative ending, and 'olkaa hyvä' is used for both formal singular and plural.
Puhukaa hitaammin, kiitos.
Speak more slowly, please.
Word by Word: Speak more-slowly, thanks.
A polite request addressed to a group of people or a formal individual. The verb puhua uses the strong grade.
Ottakaa vuoronumero.
Take a queue number.
Word by Word: Take queue-number.
Commonly seen on signs. Note that the object 'vuoronumero' is in the nominative case because it is the object of an imperative.
Syökää lautaset tyhjiksi!
Eat everything on your plates!
Word by Word: Eat plates empty!
A command given to a group. The object 'lautaset' is in the nominative plural.
Älkää menkö ulos.
Don't go outside (plural).
Word by Word: Do-not-you go out.
This is the negative plural imperative. It uses the auxiliary verb 'älkää' and the connegative ending -ko.

Common Mistakes

Using the weak grade instead of the strong grade.
Otakaa tästä.
Ottakaa tästä.
Learners often confuse this with the singular imperative 'Ota!', which uses the weak grade. The type 1 plural imperative here requires the strong grade: ottakaa.
Using the vowel stem for Verb Type 4 instead of the consonant stem.
Haluakaa lisää.
Halutkaa lisää.
For Verb Types 4, 5, and 6, you must retain the 't' from the infinitive before adding -kaa/-kää.
Using -kaa/-kää in negative commands.
Älkää tulkaa!
Älkää tulko!
Negative commands use a different structure: 'älkää' + the verb stem ending in -ko/-kö. You cannot simply add 'älkää' before the positive imperative.

How It Connects

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

-kaa/-kääLevel 2Plural Imperative (-kaa/-kää)

Learn This First

To form the plural imperative, you need to understand how to identify the verb stem and apply the correct suffix (-kaa or -kää) based on vowel harmony. It is also helpful to already be familiar with the singular imperative to understand the functional context of giving commands.