The Imperative Mood in Italian

Be good! Stay home! Let's go!

When using the above phrases in English, the only hint that it’s a command or a suggestion is the tone. Unlike Italian, English does not have a special way of changing the verb that makes the situation obvious.

In Italian, that special form is called the imperative (l'imperativo), and it’s used to give orders and offer advice or suggestions.

How to Form the Italian Imperative

When you learn how the imperative is formed for the informal (tu) and the formal (lei) it’s going to feel very backward. In other words, a regular verb like parlare - to speak is formed as (tu) parla and (Lei) parli - as if the indicative forms had swapped places - while -ere and -ire verbs behave in exactly the opposite way: (tu) prendi, (Lei) prenda.

To make it easier, stick to the following rules:

• The tu and voi forms are identical to their present indicative forms, except for the tu form of -are verbs, which add an -a to the root: domandare > domanda.
• The Lei and Loro forms (though the latter is hardly ever used) take the corresponding forms of the present subjunctive (take a gander at the table below).
• The noi form (translated by "let's..." in English) is the same as the present indicative (andiamo, vediamo, etc.).

Imperative with Regular Verbs

Irregular verbs follow the same pattern, except for the rebels essere and avere, which have rule-bending tu and voi forms:

Note too that dire has an irregular, truncated tu form: di'. The same goes for andare, dare, fare, and stare, but with these four, a regular tu form is also possible: va'/vai, da'/dai, fa'/fai, sta'/stai.

How to Form the Negative in the Imperative

The negative imperative for tu in all conjugations is formed by placing the word non before the infinitive. The noi and voi forms are identical to those in the affirmative.

Where do the pronouns go?

Direct object pronouns, indirect object pronouns, and reflexive pronouns, when used in the affirmative, are attached to the end of the verb to form one word. The only exception is loro, which is always separate.

When a pronoun is attached to the tu imperative short forms of andare, dare, dire, fare, and stare, the apostrophe disappears and the first consonant of the pronoun is doubled, except when that pronoun is gli.

• Fammi un favore! Fammelo! - Do me a favor! Do it for me!
• Dille la verità! Digliela! - Tell her the truth! Tell it to her!

When the verb is in the negative imperative, the pronouns may either precede or follow the verb.

• Carlo vuole le paste? - Does Carlos want the pastries?
• Non gliele dare! (Non dargliele)! - Don't give them to him!

More Formal Commands

The table below contains some more examples of formal commands.

FORMAL COMMANDS

Some of the verbs have irregular stem changes in the io form. Sometimes, this form is used to construct the imperatives of Lei and Loro.

Formal Commands: Verbs with Stem Changes

Finally, some verbs have irregular formal command forms that are not based on any present-indicative forms, and which you will have to memorize. These verbs are listed below.

Formal Commands: Irregular Verbs

Note that the same form of the verb is used for negative formal commands.