Lesson 144: Imperative / Imperativo

The imperative (l'imperativo) is a mood in Italian that is used not only to give orders or commands, but also to give advice, instructions, and permissions. In English, commands can be construed as rude and insensitive, but you will hear them used often in Italian, even in more formal situations. In a restaurant or bar, you might hear the waiter or barista say Dica! He's not ordering you to tell him what he wants, he's just letting you know he's ready. It's important to learn the commands, especially the formal variety as you are bound to need it as you interact with people you do not know. Remember, don't use informal commands with strangers or in formal situations as this can be construed as quite rude.

There are five forms of the imperative in Italian:

tu form

Familiar form of the imperative and is used when addressing a single person who you know well - family member, friend, child, etc.

With -are verbs, use the third person singular of the present tense. (-a)
With -ere and -ire verbs, use the second person singular. (-i)
With -ire verbs like preferire (-isc), the -isc is retained. (-i)

voi

The other familiar form but used to address two or more people that you know well - two or more family members, friends, children, etc.; The voi form is also used formally to address more than one person and is usually used in place of the Loro form.

With all verbs, use the second person plural form of the present tense.

Lei

Formal command, used to address a single person who you do not know well - such as complete strangers, work colleagues, etc.

With -are verbs, drop the stem and add an -i
With -ere and -ire verbs, drop the stem and add an -a

The Lei form of the imperative is the same as the third person singular of the subjunctive.

noi

The noi form of the imperative is equivalent to the English Let's...

The noi form uses the first person plural of the present tense.

Loro

This form is more rare but is the formal command used to address groups of two or more people who you are not familiar with: strangers, work colleagues, etc.

The uncommon Loro form uses the third person plural of the subjunctive.

Below is a sample conjugation of four verbs in the imperative:

• parlare
  (tu) parla, (voi) parlate, (Lei) parli, (noi) parliamo, (Loro) parlino
  
  
• prendere
  (tu) prendi, (voi) prendete, (Lei) prenda, (noi) prendiamo, (Loro) prendano
  
  
• partire
  (tu) parti, (voi) partite, (Lei) parta, (noi) partiamo, (Loro) partano
  
  
• finire (-isc):
  (tu) finisci, (voi) finite, (Lei) finisca, (noi) finiamo, (Loro) finiscano

When commands are used in the negative, follow these guidelines:

• With tu commands, non precedes the infinitive:
  
  Non partire ancora!
  Don't leave yet!
  
  Non fermare la macchina!
  Don't stop the car!
  
  
• With all other commands, non precedes the command:
  
  Non partite ancora!
  Don't leave yet!

When using pronouns with commands, follow these guidelines:

• With the tu, noi, and voi forms of the command, the pronouns attach to the verb:
  
  Finiscili! (li = i compiti)
  Finish it! (it = your homework)
  
  Finiamoli!
  Let's finish it!
  
  Finiteli!
  Finish it!
  
  
• With the Lei form of the command, the pronoun precedes the verb:
  
  Li finisca!
  Finish it!
  
  
• With the irregular forms, di', fa', va', da', and sta', the first consonant of the pronoun (including ci o ne) is doubled. NOTE that the pronoun, gli, is not doubled!!!!:
  
  Dimmi la verità!
  Tell me the truth!
  
  Dagli i soldi per i biglietti!
  Give him the money for the tickets!
  
  
• With negative tu commands, the pronoun either precedes the verb or can remain. When it attaches to the verb, the -e of the infinitive is dropped:
  
  Non li finire!
  Non finirli!
  Don't finish it!
  
  
• With the noi and voi negative commands, the pronouns can either precede the verb or attach themselves:
  
  Non li finiamo.
  Non finiamoli.
  
  Non li finite.
  Non finiteli.
  
  
• With the Lei negative command, the pronoun always precedes the verb:
  
  Non li finisca.

last updated: 5 October 2009