изволети + Infinitive / Imperative

The verb изволети (Ijekavian: извољети) etymologically means “to deign” or “to will favorably.” In contemporary Standard Serbian, it does not function as an ordinary verb of personal desire in the first person. Instead, its imperative forms, alongside second-person and third-person present indicative forms, operate as specialized courteous markers.

1. Syntactic Structure and Complements
• Formal and preferred pattern: изволи(те) + infinitive (e.g., Изволите сести). Standard reference works note that the infinitive has clear precedence and stylistic preference in these formulaic invitations for economy and elegance.
• Clause complement with да + презент: While a subordinate да-clause (e.g., Изволите да седнете) is grammatically possible, it is stylistically disfavored and distinctly less common with изволети than the bare infinitive.
• Spoken conversational alternative: In everyday speech, rather than clunky clause constructions, speakers frequently use paratactic doubled imperatives separated by a comma (Изволи, седи! / Изволите, седите!) or simply use standalone Изволи! / Изволите!.
• Clitic placement: Pronominal clitics such as се obligatorily climb to the second position immediately following the finite imperative host (e.g., Изволите се послужити). Leaving the clitic stranded after the infinitive (*Изволите послужити се) is ungrammatical.

2. Standalone Communicative Functions and Collocations
Beyond governing verbal complements, Изволи! (informal) and Изволите! (polite/plural) serve as ubiquitous standalone conversational formulas:
• Handing over an object: “Here you go / Here you are” (when offering food, handing change, passing documents).
• Welcoming entry: “Come in!” (in response to a knock at the door or someone arriving at an office).
• Yielding the floor or answering a summons: “Go ahead / Yes, how can I help?” (answering a call, responding when called, or giving someone turn to speak).
• Collocation with само: Adding само produces Само изволите! (“Please, go right ahead!” / “Feel free!”), warmly encouraging the interlocutor to proceed without hesitation.
• Conversational sequence warning: Learners frequently confuse изволите with “you’re welcome.” When someone thanks you with хвала, the correct replies are молим or нема на чему—never reply to хвала with *изволите. Rather, изволите precedes the exchange: you say Изволите! (as you hand something over), the recipient says Хвала!, and you reply Молим!.

3. Courteous Present vs. Imperative Directives
• Present indicative in customer service: Both second-person forms (Шта изволите? = “How may I help you?”, Кога изволите? = “Whom are you looking for?”, Како изволите = “As you wish”) and third-person singular forms (addressing a guest respectfully: Шта госпођа изволи?, Шта господин изволи?) standardly inquire about a customer's wishes.
• Imperative invitations: The imperative warmly invites an action benefiting the listener.

4. Pragmatic Direction: Listener-Oriented vs. Speaker-Oriented
A crucial pragmatic distinction separates изволите from other polite directives:

• Изволите + infinitive / paratactic imperative: Benefits or honors the listener (e.g., entering, sitting down, sampling food, taking a look).
• Молим вас + imperative / да-clause: Asks the listener for a favor that benefits the speaker (e.g., passing something, providing information).

5. Lexical Traps and Constraints
• No direct negation: You cannot negate an изволети imperative directive directly (*Не изволите сести is ungrammatical). To express polite prohibitions or negative requests, use немојте + инфинитив или да (e.g., Немојте устајати) or Молим вас, немојте...
• No indicative use for personal wants: You cannot use изволети in the first person to mean “I want” (e.g., *Ја изволим чашу воде). Use желети или хтети or потенцијал instead.
• Do not confuse with извољевати: The derived imperfective verb извољевати does not mean “to politely invite repeatedly”; it carries a strong pejorative meaning of “to be fussy, whimsical, or excessively demanding” (e.g., Престани да извољеваш! = “Stop being so picky!”).