Summary The object of the study is the construction [возьми и + Vimp] and its variants in the function of a narrative imperative. Purely semantically, this construction can be considered a partial realization of [взять и V], which permits various grammatical forms. It is not described separately in dictionaries but appears only in the zone of illustrative examples as a realization of the construction [взять и + V]. Formally, [возьми и + Vimp] as a narrative imperative is homonymous with the true imperative and occupies an intermediate position between the construction [взять и V] and an ordinary imperative, something that cannot help but be reflected in its semantics. Studies and lexicographical sources have not treated questions concerning the filler of the Vimp slot, but note only that it requires a perfective verb. Using materials from the main corpus of the RNC (Russian National Corpus) and the Sketch Engine subcorpus ruTenTen, the goal of the present investigation is to identify and empirically substantiate some usage preferences for filling this slot. The findings of the corpus analysis enable us to identify a number of such choices. There is a tendency to select verbs of speaking.