# Imperative



## yuryhashi

Is the following sentence correct in colloquial use?

Читай он эту книгу, он сдаст экзамен.


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## Maroseika

No, it is not correct at all. First, it is not imperative, it is conditional (even although the first verb is in the imperative form). Second, it should be something like that:
Читай (better - прочитай) он эту книгу, он сдал бы экзамен. 
This is formally correct, but sounds not very common. Usual application of this construction is like that:
Знай я это заранее, ни за что бы не согласился.
Живи он один, этого бы не произошло.

The very construction is not used too often and always refers to the event in the past. If you need it in Future, better to say like that:
Если он прочитает эту книгу, то сдаст экзамен.


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## tacirus

This turn is quite of an emphatic speach and can be used to reproach someone for not having read a proper book.

It should go like this:

Прочти он эту книгу, то сдал бы экзамен.


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## Maroseika

tacirus said:


> It should go like this:
> 
> Прочти он эту книгу, то сдал бы экзамен.



I'm afraid "то" is absolutely impossible here.


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## tacirus

Maroseika said:


> I'm afraid "то" is absolutely impossible here.



I`m a native russian. And the one who knows how he speaks and how speak people where he lives (I live in Vladimir).


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## gvozd

Maroseika said:


> I'm afraid "то" is absolutely impossible here.



Agree.


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## Maroseika

tacirus said:


> I`m a native russian. And the one who knows how he speaks and how speak people where he lives (I live in Vladimir).



Sorry, but this is the fault of speech.
However let's wait for other natives.


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## igusarov

Maroseika said:


> However let's wait for other natives.


I wouldn't use "то" in this example.
Neither would I use imperative verb as a conditional clause, there are easier ways to say the same... However, if I really had to use imperative, then sometimes (not in yuryhashi's case!) I feel tempted to put "и" before the second part.

Приди он вовремя - и ничего бы не случилось.
Поставь вчера будильник - и не опоздал бы сегодня.


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## tacirus

To me both "и" and "то" are acceptable. But they make a difference in attitude:

Прочти он эту книгу, то сдал бы экзамен.  -  spounds with reproach
 
Прочти он эту книгу, и сдал бы экзамен. or rather и смог бы сдать экзамен - sounds kind of simpathetically


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## Maroseika

tacirus said:


> Прочти он эту книгу, то сдал бы экзамен.



Sorry again, but now I can say with confidence, it's just an error.


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## Awwal12

tacirus said:


> I`m a native russian. And the one who knows how he speaks and how speak people where he lives (I live in Vladimir).


Just one thing: people often make a terrible mess mixing the spoken and the literary language (that they don't really know properly in the most cases). That probably could be a perfect example...


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## Melikhovo

Maroseika said:


> No, it is not correct at all. First, it is not imperative, it is conditional (even although the first verb is in the imperative form). Second, it should be something like that:
> Читай (better - прочитай) он эту книгу, он сдал бы экзамен.
> This is formally correct, but sounds not very common. Usual application of this construction is like that:
> Знай я это заранее, ни за что бы не согласился.
> Живи он один, этого бы не произошло.
> 
> The very construction is not used too often and always refers to the event in the past. If you need it in Future, better to say like that:
> Если он прочитает эту книгу, то сдаст экзамен.



Privet, 
I'm slightly confused after reading this thread. Are you using the imperative to form "If...then" constructions?


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## e2-e4 X

Melikhovo said:


> I'm slightly confused after reading this thread. Are you using the imperative to form "If...then" constructions?


Yes, sometimes. It is colloquial. Like "Let him read that book — in such case he would pass the exam". Jokes of imagination. The part that I crossed might read as (see the italics) "_Let yourself imagine he read_ that book — [and you'll see,] he would pass the exam in such case".

[I would say: "Прочти он эту книгу — так сдал бы экзамен"]


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## Melikhovo

Oh wow. I've been studying for several years and haven't stumbled upon this concept. Thanks for clearing it up. This is going to take some getting used to... Does it sound unnatural If I were to say: "если бы я знал об этом заранее то я не бы согласился" as opposed to: "Знай я это 3аранее, ни за что бы не согласился"?


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## Maroseika

Melikhovo said:


> Does it sound unnatural If I were to say: "если бы я знал об этом заранее то я *бы не* согласился" as opposed to: "Знай я это заранее, ни за что бы не согласился"?


(Negative particle always goes after бы. The reason is that бы is the remainder of the old auxillary verb быть and the modern Past tense verb was a participle: бы не согласился < был не согласился = был несогласившийся= I was disagreeing).

Both are quite natural, the latter sounds a bit bookish.
Бы is often shortened to б.


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## englishman

Coincidentally, I was going to post a question on what I think is precisely this form today:

"Предпочитай он сидеть лицом к окну, "

I guess this means "Had he preferred to sit facing the window," or "If he had preferred to sit facing the window, " ? 

I too had not come across this form before. Is it rare ? I don't think I've seen in mentioned in any grammar that I've looked at so far.


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## Maroseika

englishman said:


> Coincidentally, I was going to post a question on what I think is precisely this form today:
> 
> "Предпочитай он сидеть лицом к окну, "
> 
> I guess this means "Had he preferred to sit facing the window," or "If he had preferred to sit facing the window, " ?


Can you explain the difference between the two English phrases? As for the Russian one, it means that in the case he preferred sitting like that, something in the future would happen otherwise:
Предпочитай он сидеть (предпочти он сесть) лицом к окну, при аварии он пострадал бы намного серьзнее.
Предпочти он старшую сестру, его семейная жизнь сложилась бы счастливее.



> I too had not come across this form before. Is it rare ? I don't think I've seen in mentioned in any grammar that I've looked at so far.


Yes, it is very rare and usually is limited with the verb быть (будь я, он, она...).


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