LingoflyZachyniai or zachyny: the command form
The command form is cut from the present-tense stem, with three endings on offer. -Y after a consonant: pysy, nesy, sydy. -I after a vowel: chytai, slukhai, vishai. Zero when the stem itself ends soft: rizh, bud, siad. For example: “Зачиняйте двері (dveri), будь ласка” (bud laska) — Please close the door. A rule from the Ukrainian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The command form is cut from the present-tense stem, with three endings on offer. -Y after a consonant: pysy, nesy, sydy. -I after a vowel: chytai, slukhai, vishai. Zero when the stem itself ends soft: rizh, bud, siad.
To several people, or politely, add -it/-ite: pyshit, sidaite, zachyniaite, poiasnit. That is the form you hear in shops and cafes.
Let's is the ending -mo: khodimo, off we go — from khodyty, not ity, simply the natural way to say it. Also zrobimo, sidaimo. One little syllable does the work of let's.
Picking the one-time verb or the general one sets the tone. The general one is a standing instruction: zachyniai dveri — keep closing the door, house rule. The one-time verb asks for now: zachyny dveri.
Table
| to one | to many, politely | let's |
|---|---|---|
| pyshy | pyshit | pyshimo |
| chytai | chytaite | chytaimo |
| siad | siadte | siadmo |
| idi | idit | khodimo |
By example
- Відріж мені скибку хлібаVidrizh meni skybku khlibaCut me a slice of bread
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Pysy, chytai, khodimo: command forms?
The command form is cut from the present-tense stem, with three endings on offer. -Y after a consonant: pysy, nesy, sydy. -I after a vowel: chytai, slukhai, vishai. Zero when the stem itself ends soft: rizh, bud, siad.
What does it look like in a Ukrainian example sentence?
“Зачиняйте двері (dveri), будь ласка” (bud laska) (Zachyniaite dveri, bud laska) — Please close the door. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.