Tutorial
In Course: Russian A1

Russian Imperatives: Informal and Polite Requests

Learn how to form and use Russian imperatives for informal and polite requests. Master affirmative instructions, polite softening with пожалуйста, and negative commands.

A close-up, art-directed editorial photograph of an older Russian woman's weathered hand gently guiding a younger person's hand holding a pen over a piece of paper, bathed in soft, warm light. The intimate scene suggests a quiet instruction or request, with subtle details of a traditional Russian home in the background, composed for a 3:2 landscape frame.
en-GB → ru-RU

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Deck Contents

50 Cards
Lesson#1
In this deck, you will learn how to give instructions and make requests in Russian using the imperative mood. Russian makes a clear social distinction: you use informal commands with friends, family, and children, and polite forms with strangers, elders, and groups.
Lesson#2
When a present-tense verb stem ends in a vowel, the informal command ends in the letter Й. For the verb 'читать', to read, the informal command is 'читай'.
Quiz#3
Speaking to a friend, how do you say 'Read!' in Russian?

Читай

Lesson#4
To make that command polite, or to address several people, add the ending Т Е to get 'читайте'. For example, 'Читайте громче' means 'Read louder'.
Quiz#5
Speaking politely, how do you say 'Read!' in Russian?

Читайте

Quiz#6
Speaking politely, translate into Russian: 'Read louder!'

Читайте громче

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