A1 · Section 21
The Imperative
The mood that tells a person to do something: forms in **-k-**, the particle *tegu*, negative commands, and the plural imperative of notices and instructions.
The Imperative Formed with -k-
112.The imperative — liepiamoji nuosaka — is built from the infinitive stem with -k-, exactly as the future was built with -s- (¶99). It has three forms only, because one cannot command oneself alone: do, let us do, and do addressed to more than one person or to one politely.
- Padėk man!
- Help me!
- Valgykite!
- Eat! — the plural form is what a host says to guests
- Eikime namo.
- Let us go home.
| person | form | English |
|---|---|---|
| 2 sg. | kalbėk | speak |
| 1 pl. | kalbėkime | let us speak |
| 2 pl. | kalbėkite | speak (plural or polite) |
The Third-Person Imperative
113.There is no third-person ending. To say let him speak Lithuanian puts the particle tegu (or tegul) before the ordinary present tense. The construction is a wish rather than a command, and it is how permission and resignation are both expressed.
- Tegu kalba.
- Let him speak.
- Tegu jie ateina rytoj.
- Let them come tomorrow.
- Tegu būna taip.
- Let it be so.
Negative Commands
114.A prohibition is the imperative with ne- written onto its front, as with any other verb form (¶25). And the genitive of negation holds here as everywhere: do not read the book puts the book in the genitive.
- Neik ten!
- Don't go there!
- Neskaityk šios knygos.
- Don't read this book. — genitive *knygos*, not accusative *knygą*
- Nebūkime blogi.
- Let us not be unkind.
The Imperative in Notices and Instructions
115.The plural imperative is the form public writing uses, because it addresses everybody and is polite to each. A learner meets it on doors, in advertisements, in recipes and in exercise books long before anyone gives him an order in speech, and recognising it is worth as much as producing it.
- Skambinkite!
- Call us!
- Klausykite ir atsakykite.
- Listen and answer.
| Lithuanian | English | where | |
|---|---|---|---|
| advertisement | Ateikite ir išmokite! | Come and learn! | a notice for language courses |
| instruction | Kalbėkite lietuviškai. | Speak Lithuanian. | a classroom sign |
| direction | Eikite tiesiai. | Go straight on. | asking the way |
| exercise | Parašykite atsakymą. | Write the answer. | a textbook rubric |
Vocabulary
- tegu
- let (him, her, them) — with the present tense · particle
- Also tegul; the two are the same word.
- prašom
- please; here you are · particle
- Followed by an infinitive: prašom sėsti.
- blogas
- bad, unkind · adjective
- bloga
- parašyti
- to write down, to write (and finish) · verb
- parašo, parašė, III
- išmokti
- to learn (thoroughly) · verb
- išmoksta, išmoko, I
- bėgti
- to run · verb
- bėga, bėgo, I
- imti
- to take · verb
- ima, ėmė, I