usuwaj

Usuwaj is a Polish verb form used as the second-person singular imperative of the imperfective verb usuwać, meaning to remove or delete in a habitual or ongoing sense. As an imperative, it commands someone to perform the action of removing repeatedly or as part of a process, rather than a single, completed act. The corresponding infinitive is usunąć, which is the perfective aspect and typically appears in more definite, one-time instructions (for which the imperative form is usuń).

Grammatical notes: Usuwaj carries the characteristic imperfective aspect, indicating repetition or ongoing action. Its stem is usuw-, and the ending -aj marks the 2sg imperative form. In contrast, the perfective counterpart usunąć has the imperative form usuń, used for a concise, singular command. Imperatives of imperfective verbs are less common in everyday direct commands than those of perfective verbs, but they appear in technical writing, procedures, and step-by-step instructions where actions are described as part of a routine.

Usage and context: In manuals, tutorials, or programming guides, you might encounter phrases that describe recurring deletion actions with forms like usuwaj, for example: “Usuwaj niepotrzebne pliki po zakończeniu skanowania” (Remove unnecessary files after the scan completes). More direct, everyday instructions typically use the perfective form: “Usuń niepotrzebne pliki.” The choice between imperfective and perfective forms depends on whether the action is presented as habitual/recurrent or as a single, completed operation.

Related terms: usunąć (to remove, to delete, perfective), usuwanie (removal, process of removing), usunięcie (deletion, noun form).