# All Slavic: Negative imperative



## ibogi

In BCS, there are two ways of forming negative imperative:

Ne + imperative
Nemoj/nemojte + infinitive (da + present in Serbian)

For example:

Otvori vrata - Ne otvaraj vrata - Nemoj otvarati vrata / Nemoj da otvaraš vrata
Zatvori usta - Ne zatvaraj usta - Nemoj zatvarati usta / Nemoj da zatvaraš usta

I have two questions:
1) Is there a corresponding verb nemoj/nemojte in other Slavic languages? This verbs evades me since it has only present and only second person singular and plural.

2) In BCS negative imperative requires continuous aspect for most verbs, even if we wish to designate that is action is not done only once. For example, If one wishes not to open the window, saying "Ne otvori prozor" sounds completely wrong to me and "Nemoj da otvoris prozor" doesn't sound completely wrong, but I would prefer "Ne otvaraj prozor"


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## Panceltic

In Slovenian, the only correct option is "ne + imperative", usually with imperfective verbs if possible. "Ne odpiraj okna" - "Don't open the window", "Ne zapiraj vrat" - "Don't close the door" (and not **ne odpri, **ne zapri); "Ne bodi tečen" - "Don't be annoying".

However, in spoken language, we usually say "ne + infinitive", usually without the final -i. "Ne odpirat okna", "Ne zapirat vrat", "Ne bit tečen".

There is nothing like "nemoj(te)".


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## DarkChild

In Bulgarian it's недей/недейте.


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## ibogi

it is my guess that the form nemoj/nemojmo/nemojte as well as недей/недейте are common to Balkansprachbund. Greek has a similar form

άνοιξει - μην ανοίγεις - the first verb means Open! the second Do not open!. The first verb is imperative simple mood, the second verb is min (which means don't) + second person singular present continuous mood.

I am curious if this feature comes to other languages from Greek and if it's present in other languages (Albanian, Romanian)


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## Awwal12

ibogi said:


> 1) Is there a corresponding verb nemoj/nemojte in other Slavic languages? This verbs evades me since it has only present and only second person singular and plural.
> 
> 2) In BCS negative imperative requires continuous aspect for most verbs, even if we wish to designate that is action is not done only once. For example, If one wishes not to open the window, saying "Ne otvori prozor" sounds completely wrong to me and "Nemoj da otvoris prozor" doesn't sound completely wrong, but I would prefer "Ne otvaraj prozor"


1. No, only не + imperative in Russian.
2. Most Russian negative imperatives require verbs of the imperfective aspect by default (не убивай, не делай, не клади etc.). Negative imperatives with perfective verbs mostly imply unvoluntary, accidental action which should be avoided: не убей (ненароком), не сделай (случайно) etc. There are exceptions of different nature, though. As for imperfective verbs of movement, the choice between undirected and continuous verbs (не иди/не ходи, не лети/не летай etc.) generally depends both on the verb and on the meaning; for walking, it seems that не иди (continuous) is almost never used, while for the rest it depends on the meaning of the phrase.


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## bibax

Nemoj/nemojte reminds Latin *nolī/nolīte* + infinitive (like in _noli tangere_ circulos meos = _ne tangas_ ...).

1) In Czech we sometimes use *nechtěj/nechtějte* + infinitive, but _chtíti_ is a common verb meaning _to want_.

nechtěj být ... (nebuď ...)
nechtěj se ptát (neptej se);
... *nechtěj se posmívati *služebnici své (neposmívej se služebnici své);
= ... *noli mentiri* ancillae tuae (LA, Nova Vulgata)
= ... *не обманывай* рабы твоей (RU)

2) In the negative imperative we use mostly the imperfective aspect:

Otevři okna! (open the windows) - Neotvírej okna!
Udělej to sám! (do it yourself) - Nedělej to sám!
Zkus to! (try it) - Nezkoušej to!
Zeptej se! (ask) - Neptej se!
Odpověz! (answer) -  Neodpovídej!

Jdi do lesa! - Nechoď do lesa!

But the construction with _nechtít_ can use both aspects.

*Rozzlob* mě [a uvidíš]! - *Nezlob* mě! - *Nechtěj* mě *rozzlobit*!
Make me angry! - Don't make me angry! - Don't want to make me angry!

3) Simple imperative is also possible:

Nemluvit! (mluviti = to speak)
Neopisovat! (e.g. a teacher in classroom, opisovati od někoho = to be cribbing from sb)


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## LoraLanguage

In Bulgarian we have two opportunities.
For example:
Недей да пиеш! or Не пий! - Don't drink!
In the first case we use "недей да" + infinitive in second person, singular, present simple tense. 
In the second case we use the negative particle "не" + positive imperative in second person, singular, imperfect form.

It's the same when we talk about second person, plural.
For example:
Недейте да пиете! or Не пийте! - Don't drink!
In the first case we use "недейте да" + infinitive in second person, plural, present simple tense. 
In the second case we use the negative particle "не" + positive imperative in second person, plural, imperfect form.


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## marco_2

And what about the forms *недей писа *with a shortened infininitive - don't you use it in contemporary Bulgarian?


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## LoraLanguage

marco_2 said:


> And what about the forms *недей писа *with a shortened infininitive - don't you use it in contemporary Bulgarian?


Actually we sometimes say it but this is NOT correct in contemporary Bulgarian and it sounds weird! We can use it only in colloquial language and never in an official text! The correct forms are: Недей да пишеш and Не пиши!


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## jasio

Awwal12 said:


> 1. No, only не + imperative in Russian.
> 2. Most Russian negative imperatives require verbs of the imperfective aspect by default (не убивай, не делай, не клади etc.). Negative imperatives with perfective verbs mostly imply unvoluntary, accidental action which should be avoided: не убей (ненароком), не сделай (случайно) etc. There are exceptions of different nature, though. As for imperfective verbs of movement, the choice between undirected and continuous verbs (не иди/не ходи, не лети/не летай etc.) generally depends both on the verb and on the meaning; for walking, it seems that не иди (continuous) is almost never used, while for the rest it depends on the meaning of the phrase.



In Polish it's very similar.

"Nie" + imperative as the only permitted variant
Typical use of imperfective verbs (nie zabijaj, nie rób, nie kładź, etc), and perfective verbs mainly to avoid accidental unvoluntary actions (nie upuść, nie zgub) - but also "nie zrób czegoś głupiego", as if doing something stupid was inherently accidental. ;-)


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## toocool

Otvori vrata - Ne otvaraj vrata - Nemoj otvarati vrata / Nemoj da otvaraš vrata
Zatvori usta - Ne zatvaraj usta - Nemoj zatvarati usta / Nemoj da zatvaraš usta

As a rule, in Croatian, you would just use the first two forms;  "Ne otvaraj vrata - Nemoj otvarati vrata" whilst "Nemoj da otvaraš vrata" is used in Serbian and almost never in Croatian even though it is grammatically correct in both languages.
Should I shout in the middle of Zagreb (Capital of Croatia) "NEMOJ DA ZATVARAŠ VRATA" I'd be immediately labeled as a Serb 
[...]
Off topic part removed


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## Hachi25

As ibogi already stated in the opening post, there is also another possibility here: _Nemoj otvoriti vrata_ _/ Nemoj da otvoriš vrata. _This structure, however, in my mind changes the meaning slightly; by saying _Nemoj otvoriti vrata_ you are not just telling the other person not to open the door, you are actually (strictly) forbidding them to do that.



toocool said:


> Otvori vrata - Ne otvaraj vrata - Nemoj otvarati vrata / Nemoj da otvaraš vrata
> Should I shout in the middle of Zagreb (Capital of Croatia) "NEMOJ DA ZATVARAŠ VRATA" I'd be immediately labeled as a Serb which might attract some unwanted attention even in a broad light 20+ years after the war of Balkans.


Although this is off topic, I must disagree. You might be labeled as a Serb if you pronounced the sentence like a Serb would, but if you are really from Zagreb, there is a bigger chance for you to pronounce the verb differently (like _zatvȃraš)_, in which case you would just sound strange. Maybe even funny.
[...]
Reply to a deleted portion of a post


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## toocool

Hi Hachi, sorry to reply with a delay but daily obligations are seriously reducing my free time, mostly spent on different linguistic forums or working on translations /French >> English, English >> French/  so back to business 

Your remark is entirely accurate: we agree that "Nemoj otvoriti vrata" is definitely a very straightforward interdiction to open the door in Croatian and "Nemoj da otvoriš vrata" which would typically be used in Serbia also (IMO) carries the same "weight" and orders a person not to open the door->what other choice is a left to a person after "Nemoj da otvoriš vrata" or "Nemoj otvoriti vrata".Both are strict and clear instructions to a person not to open the #$%#& door ...Only the sentence "Ne otvaraj vrata" is stricter than the forms mentioned above (IMHO)

[...]
Mod note : chat removed - please use PM for friendly off topic discussions


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## nimak

In *Macedonian *it is:

*Не* (_ne_) + _imperative!_
*Немој* (_nemoj_) + *да *(_da_) + _present!_; The plural form *немојте *(_nemojte_) is also used.
Не оди! (_Né odi!_)
Немој да одиш! (_Némoj da ódiš!_)

Не отворај врата! (_Ne ótvoraj vráta!_)
Немој да отвораш врата! (_Némoj da ótvoraš vráta!_)

Не отворај ја вратата! (_Ne otvóraj ja vrátata!_) or Не ја отворај вратата! (_Ne ja ótvoraj vrátata!_)
Немој да ја отвораш вратата! (_Némoj da ja ótvoraš vrátata!_)

In some Macedonian dialects there are used *ним* (_nim_) and *нуму* (_numu_) plus _shortened infinitive_.

_Gevgelija dialect:_ Ним се коси! (_Ním se kósi!_) - _"Don't get angry!"
Standard Macedonian:_ Немој да се лутиш! (_Némoj da se lútiš!_); Не лути се! (_Ne lúti se!_)

_Tikveš dialect:_ Нуму лафи! (_Númu láfi!_) - _"Don't speak!"
Standard Macedonian:_ Немој да зборуваш! (_Némoj da zbóruvaš!_); Не зборувај! (_Ne zbóruvaj!_)


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## nimak

ibogi said:


> it is my guess that the form nemoj/nemojmo/nemojte as well as недей/недейте are common to Balkansprachbund. Greek has a similar form
> 
> άνοιξει - μην ανοίγεις - the first verb means Open! the second Do not open!. The first verb is imperative simple mood, the second verb is min (which means don't) + second person singular present continuous mood.
> 
> I am curious if this feature comes to other languages from Greek and if it's present in other languages (Albanian, Romanian)


It is present in Albanian too, they use the particle *mos*.  Shko! -"_Go!_"; Mos shko! - "_Don't go!_"


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## Christo Tamarin

Bulgarian.
*Do not write!*

Не пишѝ! Не пишѣ̀те! (Не пишѐте!)
Недѣ̀й пѝса! Недѣ̀йте пѝса! (Нед̀ей пѝса! Нед̀ѐйте пѝса!)
Недѣ̀й да пѝшеш! Недѣ̀йте да пѝшете! (Нед̀ей да пѝшеш! Нед̀ѐйте да пѝшете!)
All the versions above are absolutely correct.

Residual infinitive is a correct form in Standard Bulgarian, although Western Bulgarians do not use it.
Example: Женитѣ можеш ли ги разбра̀!


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## ahvalj

Russian actually knows this negative Imperative: it is very rare, sounds nowadays obsolete and regional, it never was part of the literary language, and it apparently preserves its original Slavic meaning "don't even do something", e. g. _и думать об этом не моги_ "don't even think about it".


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## daniar

LoraLanguage said:


> Actually we sometimes say it but this is NOT correct in contemporary Bulgarian and it sounds weird! We can use it only in colloquial language and never in an official text! The correct forms are: Недей да пишеш and Не пиши!


I wouldn't go as far as saying it is incorrect. Actually, I think it is standard literary Bulgarian, perhaps Eastern Bulgarian. I was actually taught both Недей писа and Недей да пишеш at school. I do agree that it's beginning to sound old-fashioned (to young people's ears).


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## Włoskipolak 72

jasio said:


> In Polish it's very similar.
> 
> "Nie" + imperative as the only permitted variant
> Typical use of imperfective verbs (nie zabijaj, nie rób, nie kładź, etc), and perfective verbs mainly to avoid accidental unvoluntary actions (nie upuść, nie zgub) - but also "nie zrób czegoś głupiego", as if doing something stupid was inherently accidental. ;-)



What about : 3. os. – niech oni (one) czytają!   *niech* oni (one) nie czytają! ? 

Odmiana w trybie rozkazującym 1 os. - niech ja czytam! 1. os. - my czytajmy! 2. os. - czytaj! 2. os. – wy czytajcie! 3. os. – niech on (ona, ono) czyta! 3. os. – niech oni (one) czytają!
Bardzo rzadko stosowana, częściej spotykana w zdaniach przeczących („*Niech* ja się nie denerwuję”,)


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## jasio

Włoskipolak 72 said:


> What about : 3. os. – niech oni (one) czytają!   *niech* oni (one) nie czytają! ?


Indeed, the examples in Russian (which I had commented) where in 2nd person sg, so where the examples in the other languages. Consequently, my comment also refers to 2nd person only (sg + pl). In case of the other persons the structure is similar though - except that the negation is right before the verb, as in your examples, not before the whole imperative clause.


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## DarkChild

Christo Tamarin said:


> Bulgarian.
> *Do not write!*
> 
> Не пишѝ! Не пишѣ̀те! (Не пишѐте!)
> Недѣ̀й пѝса! Недѣ̀йте пѝса! (Нед̀ей пѝса! Нед̀ѐйте пѝса!)
> Недѣ̀й да пѝшеш! Недѣ̀йте да пѝшете! (Нед̀ей да пѝшеш! Нед̀ѐйте да пѝшете!)
> All the versions above are absolutely correct.
> 
> Residual infinitive is a correct form in Standard Bulgarian, although Western Bulgarians do not use it.
> Example: Женитѣ можеш ли ги разбра̀!


Today I saw недей пиши which sounds very strange to me.


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## daniar

DarkChild said:


> Today I saw недей пиши which sounds very strange to me.


I would say that.


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