The third-person imperative with neka

You already know how to tell someone in front of you what to do: Uđi! (Come in!), Sednite! (Sit down!). But what about a person who is not the one you are talking to? A host at the door hears the bell and says to her husband: Let them come in. A mother says: Let him sleep. Serbian has no special imperative ending for 'him', 'her' or 'them', so it fills the gap with one small word.

neka + the ordinary present tense

Put the unchanging particle neka in front of the verb, and give the verb its normal present-tense form for the person you are talking about: the 3rd person singular for one person, the 3rd person plural for several. Nothing else changes.

The subject can be named, and it usually comes right after neka or at the end: Neka Marko sedne ovde. (Let Marko sit here.) Neka gosti sednu gde hoće. (Let the guests sit wherever they want.)

What neka is used for

• Passing on an instruction about someone who is not there: Neka ponese vino. (Tell him to bring wine. / He should bring wine.)
• Giving permission graciously: Neka sede koliko hoće. (Let them stay as long as they like.)
• A resigned 'fine, let him': Neka ide, ako mora. (Fine, let him go, if he must.)
• A good wish: Neka vam je sa srećom! (Good luck to you! — literally 'let it be with luck to you')

Negation: neka ne

To say that someone should not do something, put ne between neka and the verb, exactly as with any verb: Neka ne dolaze pre sedam. (They shouldn't come before seven.) Do not use nemoj here — nemoj is only for the person you are talking to.

Nemoj / nemojte talks to you: Nemoj da čekaš. (Don't wait.) For him, her, them say neka ne: Neka ne čeka. (He shouldn't wait.) Never write neka nemoj.

Clitics come straight after neka

neka is a stressed first word, so every clitic — se, mi, mu, ih, je — moves into second position directly after it, before the verb and before any named subject: Neka se Ana ne ljuti. (Ana shouldn't be upset.) Neka mi kaže kad dođe. (Let him tell me when he arrives.) Neka ih smesti u sobu za goste. (Let him put them up in the guest room.)

The classic slip is copying English order: Neka Ana se ne ljuti is wrong. The clitic never waits for the subject — it goes right after neka.

You may also meet hajde da + present for 'let's': Hajde da sednemo. That is a different construction for 'us'; this lesson is only about 'him, her, them'.