zatrzymajcie

Zatrzymajcie is the second-person plural imperative form of the Polish verb zatrzymać, meaning to stop, halt, or arrest. It is used to address a group and command them to bring an action to an end, pause a movement, or prevent something from continuing.

Grammatically, zatrzymajcie comes from the perfective aspect of zatrzymać and adds the standard 2nd person plural imperative ending -cie. The imperfective counterpart is zatrzymujcie. The reflexive form zatrzymajcie się means that the group should stop themselves or pause for a moment.

Usage is common in directives, instructions, and public discourse where a speaker addresses multiple listeners. It can appear in safety announcements, protests, or instructional contexts. It can take a direct object, for example: zatrzymajcie ten film (pause this film), zatrzymajcie ruch (stop the traffic), zatrzymajcie się i posłuchajcie (stop and listen).

Translations into English include equivalents such as “stop,” “halt,” or “hold up” in the plural imperative, with zatrzymajcie się rendered as “stop yourselves” or “hold on.” The nuance differs from the imperfective form, where the action might be repeated or ongoing rather than a single completed halt.

Etymology: the form is built from prefix z- plus trzymać (to hold), yielding a sense of bringing something to a stop. Related verbal forms include zatrzymaj, zatrzymać, and zatrzymujcie, reflecting related aspects and tenses in Polish.