All Slavic: imperative 1st person plural - is it used in the colloquial language?

[ilocas2]

Hello, is the 1st person plural imperative used in the colloquial register of your language? In Czech not, so I wonder how it is in other Slavic languages.

 

[Panceltic]

Of course it is! How else are you gonna say "let's do this", "let's go there" etc.

 

[ilocas2]

In colloquial Czech indicitave is used instead, mostly future tense.

 

[Hachi25]

Serbo-Croatian uses it regularly.

The form is made by combining the second person singular imperative form with the first person plural present tense ending (-mo). For example:
infinitive: p(j)evati
imperative, second person singular: p(j)evaj
indicative, first person plural: p(j)evamo
imperative, first person plural: p(j)evajmo

 

[francisgranada]

...In Czech not ...

Isn't it due to the formal coincidence of the imperative with the indicative in some cases (in the spoken language)? Or simply the indicative is used consequently instead of the imperative?

For example, don't you say vizme but vidíme instead? Or instead of pojďme, exclusively pujdem is used in the colloquial speech? ...

 

[ilocas2]

1. I don't hink there is a case where indicative and imperative 1st person plural are the same.

2. Imperative of vidět is practically never used. Viz changed its meaning and vizte and vizme are very obsolete. There are viď and viďte but they are also not used as imperative.

3. Yes, instead of pojďme, we say půjdeme which is pronounced pudeme or pudem colloquially, or jdeme which is pronounced deme or dem colloquially.

 

[francisgranada]

Thanks. This is interesting for me, because even though this phenomenon is "spontaneously" known to me (as I was born and living in Czechoslovakia), but I've never paid attention to it from the linguistic point of view.

 

[ilocas2]

So in Slovak you use normally imperative 1st person plural in the everyday language?

 

[francisgranada]

So in Slovak you use normally imperative 1st person plural in the everyday language?

Yes, absolutely. E.g. poďme, prečítajme, napíšme, sadnime si, ... are normally used in the everyday language (i.e. they are not substituted by the indicative forms pôjdeme, prečítame, napíšeme, sadneme si ...).

 

[jasio]

In Polish it's the same, imperative forms are used regularly: chodźmy, przeczytajmy, napiszmy, usiądźmy, zjedzmy, wypijmy, zaśpiewajmy. In indicative mood it would be chodzimy/idziemy, przeczytamy, napiszemy, usiądziemy, zjemy, wypijemy, zaśpiewamy respectively. 'Pójdźmy" also exists, but it's archaic - although indicative "pójdziemy" is still in use.

Although, on the other hand, it does happen that the indicative mood is used to convey imperative meaning, not only in 1st person, btw, but I have an impression that in plural it's more natural. In such cases it often means something like 'it's not a request or order, (let's) consider it a decided fact so (let's) do it now'.

 

[francisgranada]

... Although, on the other hand, it does happen that the indicative mood is used to convey imperative meaning, not only in 1st person, btw, but I have an impression that in plural it's more natural. In such cases it often means something like 'it's not a request or order, (let's) consider it a decided fact so (let's) do it now'.

Yes, but it doesn't seem to be a Slavic specialty, it works in other languages, too. E.g. (Slovak) Teraz všetci ideme domov!; (Polish) Teraz wszyscy idziemy do domu!; (Hungarian) Most mindnyájan haza megyünk!; (Spanish) Ahora ¡todos vamos a casa!; etc ....

 

[Ukrainito]

In Russian, besides a few set one-word expressions for the 1-person-plural imperative (Пойдём(те)! Идём(те)! Пошли! Бежим!), the analytical form is used, requiring the auxiliary verb давайте, айда + infinitive (Давайте работать! Айда купаться!)

In Ukrainian, all verbs can have the 1-person-plural imperative endings -імо/-аймо (Ходíм(о)! Біжíм(о)! Співáймо!). However, most people would just use the analytical form with the auxiliary verbs давайте, нумо + infinitive (Давайте працювати! Нумо танцювати!)

 

[Daniel.N]

Although BCMS has -mo (jedimo = let's eat) it seems that - in speech - ajmo (colloq. form of hajdemo) + inf prevails in Croatia: ajmo jesti.

 

[aprendiendo argento]

Also, in Croatian:

da vidimo - let's see
idemo plesati (ajmo plesat in colloquial style) - let's (go) dance

idemo (indicative) is always used instead of idimo (indicative) for let's go
compare it with Spanish vamos instead of vayamos...