# Ukrainian: negative Imperative and aspect, "to translate" (compared to other Slavic languages)



## ectuohy

Привіт усім--

Can anyone comment on the subtleties/connotations of choosing imperfective/perfective in "to translate"? I hear both used in Ukrainian (the Slavic language I know best), but don't see a difference--here are some excerpts:

Перекладіть речення українською мовою. [from exam instructions]
Перекладайте слова...[same]

In other areas the frequentative distinction is more clear, eg  Перекладіть дослівно [ці фрази] (again from an exam)
 and Не перекладайте дослівно! (from a linguistics textbook)
--the perfective is used for a specific task, and the imperfective for general instructions that will be repeatedly followed.

Comments from the other Slavic languages equally welcome--thanks!


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## Duya

ectuohy said:


> --the perfective is used for a specific task, and the imperfective for general instructions that will be repeatedly followed.



I have never consciously analysed it, but I think you got it exactly right. That is also true for any imperative action in general -- with perfective, we want you to just get the job done, and imperfective denotes either that you do it repetitively, or just offers a general advice.


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## Orlin

And I think that something else is also important - negative imperatives cannot be formed from perfective verbs (I am sure that it is valid at least for Bulgarian, Russian and BCS and only suppose for the other Slavic languages).


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## Awwal12

> And I think that something else is also important - negative imperatives cannot be formed from perfective verbs (I am sure that it is valid at least for Bulgarian, Russian and BCS and only suppose for the other Slavic languages).


For Russian it is not valid at all.  Even if in the most cases it is really true, in some contexts negative imperative with perfective verbs should be used. "Не вздумай", "не убей его ненароком" (compare "не убивай его, пусть живёт"), "не разлей молоко по пути", "не пораньтесь", "смотри, не ударься головой о перекладину" etc.


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## TriglavNationalPark

Orlin said:


> And I think that something else is also important - negative imperatives cannot be formed from perfective verbs (I am sure that it is valid at least for Bulgarian, Russian and BCS and only suppose for the other Slavic languages).


 
Here is what Slovenian lingust Jože Toporišič has to say about negative imperatives in Slovenian:



> Pri zanikanju se pojavljajo redne zamene dovršnih velelnikov z nedovršnimi in določnih z nedoločnimi: Odpri vrata — Ne odpiraj vrat.--Nesi to očetu — Ne nosi tega očetu. Če pri zanikanju uporabljamo dovršni glagol, se s tem opozarja na nezaželjene posledice, ko bi se dejanje vendarle izvršilo: Ne zini mi niti besedice več!


 
Source: http://www.dlib.si/v2/HTMLViewer.aspx?URN=URN:NBN:SI:doc-6NFLI2CJ

To summarize: In Slovenian negative imperatives, perfective forms are usually replaced with imperfective forms, but perfective forms may be retained if the speaker wants to imply the undesired consequences of certain actions.


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## ectuohy

Orlin said:


> And I think that something else is also important - negative imperatives cannot be formed from perfective verbs (I am sure that it is valid at least for Bulgarian, Russian and BCS and only suppose for the other Slavic languages).



Aha! Yes, that explains the tendency for sure--and it's a good rule of thumb; thanks!


And thanks Awwal--ну, вот богатый русский язык   Can you use both with different meanings in the examples you give? eg,  Не ударяйся головой--don't keep hitting your head [over and over again] as opposed to "watch out so you don't do it once"?


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## Awwal12

> To summarize: In Slovenian negative imperatives, perfective forms are usually replaced with imperfective forms, but perfective forms may be retained if the speaker wants to imply the undesired consequences of certain actions.


Looks like it is all almost the same in Russian - and, I suppose, in Ukrainian as well.


> Can you use both with different meanings in the examples you give? eg, Не ударяйся головой--don't keep hitting your head [over and over again] as opposed to "watch out so you don't do it once"?


Well, one surely can say something like "не ударяйся ты головой каждый раз". But with "не убей"/"не убивай" the main difference is that the action presupposed to be accidental and intentional respectively. And even if there are many objects, in case of accidental action one will use either "не убей (их)" or "не поубивай (их)", but not "не убивай".


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## ectuohy

TriglavNationalPark said:


> Here is what Slovenian lingust Jože Toporišič has to say about negative imperatives in Slovenian:
> 
> 
> 
> Source: http://www.dlib.si/v2/HTMLViewer.aspx?URN=URN:NBN:SI:doc-6NFLI2CJ
> 
> To summarize: In Slovenian negative imperatives, perfective forms are usually replaced with imperfective forms, but perfective forms may be retained if the speaker wants to imply the undesired consequences of certain actions.






Aha--great! I wonder why no teacher ever mentioned it, it would seem to be appropriate to introduce the idea at the same time as the imperative forms themselves...Hvala lepo!


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## Selyd

ectuohy said:


> Привіт усім--
> 
> Can anyone comment on the subtleties/connotations of choosing imperfective/perfective in "to translate"? I hear both used in Ukrainian (the Slavic language I know best), but don't see a difference--here are some excerpts:
> 
> Перекладіть речення українською мовою. [from exam instructions]
> Перекладайте слова...[same]
> 
> In other areas the frequentative distinction is more clear, eg Перекладіть дослівно [ці фрази] (again from an exam)
> and Не перекладайте дослівно! (from a linguistics textbook)
> --the perfective is used for a specific task, and the imperfective for general instructions that will be repeatedly followed.
> 
> Comments from the other Slavic languages equally welcome--thanks!


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## Selyd

_Перекладіть речення українською мовою. [from exam instructions]
_Тут мова йде про припис, наказ виконати роботу. Настанови відсутні.
_Перекладайте слова...[same]_
Тут же мова йде про виконання роботи швидше з якимось настановами. В слові міститься і момент повторюваності. Але не він головний.
Перекладай-мо! ... Заклик до виконання. Дружньо, з заохоченням.
Перекладайте-но!  Наказова форма. Холодно, офіційно.


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## ectuohy

Дякую!! Тепер ясно...


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