Imperative Mood in Italian

In Brief

Italian uses the imperative to tell or invite someone to do something: Ascolta! (“Listen!”), Entrate! (“Come in!”), or Andiamo! (“Let’s go!”). The form changes according to whom you address: informal singular tu, formal singular Lei, inclusive noi, or plural voi. The most important special rule is that a negative tu command uses non + infinitive: Non parlare! (“Don’t speak!”).

Overview

The imperative mood (l’imperativo) is a set of verb forms used for commands, instructions, invitations, advice, and requests. A mood shows how a speaker presents an action: here, not as a fact, but as something the listener is asked or told to do. You will hear imperatives in conversations, recipes, directions, signs, software instructions, and advertising.

This is a core B1 topic because choosing the correct form requires more than translating an English command. English normally uses the same bare verb in “Come in,” “Let’s go,” and “Don’t worry.” Italian marks the relationship and number of the people involved: Entra addresses one person informally, Entri addresses one person formally, and Entrate addresses two or more people.

Italian often leaves the subject word unspoken, so the command normally consists of the verb and anything that completes it. Object and reflexive pronouns—short words such as mi (“me”), lo (“it/him”), and ti (“yourself”)—also have special positions with imperatives. Learning the form and the pronoun pattern together will help expressions such as dimmi and non preoccuparti feel natural.

How It Works

Choose who you are addressing

The modern imperative mainly uses four persons. “Person” simply identifies who is involved in the action.

Person	Who it addresses	Example	Meaning
tu	one person, informal	Aspetta!	Wait!
Lei	one person, formal	Aspetti!	Wait!
noi	the speaker and others	Aspettiamo!	Let’s wait!
voi	two or more people	Aspettate!	Wait!

There is no ordinary first-person singular command: you do not command yourself with an io form. A third-person plural formal form, Loro, exists (aspettino), but it sounds very formal or old-fashioned and is rarely needed in everyday speech.

Regular affirmative forms

An infinitive is the dictionary form of a verb, such as parlare, prendere, or dormire. Remove its ending and add the imperative ending shown below.

Verb group	tu	Lei	noi	voi
parlare (-are)	parla	parli	parliamo	parlate
prendere (-ere)	prendi	prenda	prendiamo	prendete
dormire (-ire)	dormi	dorma	dormiamo	dormite
finire (-isc- type)	finisci	finisca	finiamo	finite

For most verbs, the tu, noi, and voi forms look like familiar present-tense forms. The major trap is regular -are verbs: the informal singular ends in -a, so parlare gives parla!, not parli!

The formal Lei imperative uses a form of the present subjunctive (a verb form also used for uncertainty, wishes, and other non-factual perspectives): parli, prenda, dorma, finisca. You do not need to state Lei, because the situation normally makes the formal address clear.

Spelling adjustments preserve the verb’s sound. For example, cercare becomes cerca, cerchi, cerchiamo, cercate, while mangiare becomes mangia, mangi, mangiamo, mangiate.

Negative commands

For an informal command to one person, use non + infinitive:

• Non parlare! — Don’t speak!
• Non correre! — Don’t run!
• Non aprire la finestra! — Don’t open the window!
• Non finire tutto! — Don’t finish everything!

For Lei, noi, and voi, put non before the normal imperative form:

Person	Affirmative	Negative
tu	Parla!	Non parlare!
Lei	Parli!	Non parli!
noi	Parliamo!	Non parliamo!
voi	Parlate!	Non parlate!

Context distinguishes non parli addressed formally to one person from other uses of the same subjunctive form.

Pronouns with affirmative commands

With affirmative tu, noi, and voi commands, unstressed pronouns attach to the end of the verb as one written word:

Separate idea	Command with pronoun	Meaning
dire a me	Dimmi.	Tell me.
comprare il pane	Compralo.	Buy it.
sedere se stessi	Sedetevi.	Sit down.
andare via noi	Andiamocene.	Let’s leave.

A direct object is the person or thing directly affected by the action: lo in compralo replaces the thing being bought. An indirect object identifies a recipient, often corresponding to English “to someone”: mi in dimmi means “to me.” A reflexive pronoun points the action back to the same person, as ti does in alzati (“get yourself up”).

With formal Lei, the pronoun normally stays before the verb rather than attaching:

• Mi dica la verità. — Tell me the truth.
• Lo prenda. — Take it.
• Si accomodi. — Please have a seat.

Pronouns with negative commands

A negative tu command allows two standard positions. The pronoun can come before the infinitive or attach to its end:

• Non ti preoccupare! = Non preoccuparti! — Don’t worry!
• Non lo comprare! = Non comprarlo! — Don’t buy it!
• Non mi dire tutto! = Non dirmi tutto! — Don’t tell me everything!

Both versions are correct. With negative Lei, the pronoun precedes the verb: Non si preoccupi. With noi and voi, attachment is normal: Non fermiamoci; Non alzatevi.

Frequent irregular imperatives

Several very common verbs have irregular tu and/or Lei forms. Learn them as useful spoken chunks.

Infinitive	tu	Lei	noi	voi
essere	sii	sia	siamo	siate
avere	abbi	abbia	abbiamo	abbiate
andare	va’ / vai	vada	andiamo	andate
dare	da’ / dai	dia	diamo	date
fare	fa’ / fai	faccia	facciamo	fate
stare	sta’ / stai	stia	stiamo	state
dire	di’	dica	diciamo	dite
venire	vieni	venga	veniamo	venite
uscire	esci	esca	usciamo	uscite

The apostrophe in va’, da’, fa’, sta’, di’ marks a shortened form and is not an accent. The full forms vai, dai, fai, and stai are also used. When a pronoun attaches to most of these short forms, its initial consonant doubles: dimmi, dammi, fammi, dillo, fallo, vacci. The pronoun gli is an exception: digli (“tell him”), not diggli.

Examples in Context

Italian	English	Note
Ascolta!	Listen!	Informal singular
Scusi, mi può aiutare?	Excuse me, can you help me?	Formal Lei; scusi is a polite attention-getter
Prendi la seconda strada a destra.	Take the second road on the right.	Informal direction
Entri pure, signora.	Please come in, ma’am.	Formal invitation; pure makes it welcoming
Aspettate qui cinque minuti.	Wait here for five minutes.	Addressing several people
Andiamo a prendere un caffè.	Let’s go and get a coffee.	Inclusive noi suggestion
Non preoccuparti!	Don’t worry!	Negative tu with attached pronoun
Non toccare quel pulsante.	Don’t touch that button.	Negative tu + infinitive
Non si preoccupi, dottore.	Don’t worry, doctor.	Negative formal command
Dimmi la verità.	Tell me the truth.	Irregular di’ + mi
Metteteli sul tavolo.	Put them on the table.	Plural command + direct-object pronoun
Siediti e riposati un momento.	Sit down and rest for a moment.	Two reflexive tu commands
Mi mandi il documento entro domani.	Send me the document by tomorrow.	Formal request; pronoun before verb
Facciamolo subito.	Let’s do it right away.	noi command + lo
Non dimenticate le chiavi.	Don’t forget the keys.	Negative plural command

Common Mistakes

Using a present-tense -are form for informal tu

• Wrong: Parli più lentamente! (intended as informal)
• Right: Parla più lentamente!
• Why: A regular -are verb has -a in an affirmative tu command. Parli is the formal Lei command here.

Conjugating a negative tu command

• Wrong: Non parla così!
• Right: Non parlare così!
• Why: A negative informal singular command uses non plus the infinitive, regardless of whether the verb ends in -are, -ere, or -ire.

Attaching a pronoun to a formal command

• Wrong: Dicami il suo nome.
• Right: Mi dica il suo nome.
• Why: With formal Lei, unstressed pronouns normally come before the imperative verb.

Leaving the pronoun separate after an affirmative tu command

• Wrong: Compra lo!
• Right: Compralo!
• Why: With affirmative tu, the pronoun attaches directly to the command, with no space.

Mixing formal address and an informal form

• Wrong: Signora, aspetta qui.
• Right: Signora, aspetti qui.
• Why: When addressing someone as formal Lei, use the corresponding formal imperative consistently. The informal version could sound overly familiar depending on the relationship.

Forgetting consonant doubling in short irregular forms

• Wrong: Dimi cosa è successo.
• Right: Dimmi cosa è successo.
• Why: A pronoun attached to di’ doubles its initial consonant: di’ + mi → dimmi.

Usage Notes

An imperative is not automatically rude. Tone, context, and added words matter. In a recipe, aggiungi due cucchiai d’olio is a neutral instruction. Between friends, vieni con noi! can be a warm invitation. A bare command to a stranger, however, may sound abrupt.

Italian has several easy ways to soften a request. Add per favore (“please”), use a question such as Puoi chiudere la finestra? (“Can you close the window?”), or use a conditional request such as Potrebbe aiutarmi? (“Could you help me?”). With formal invitations, pure often means “go ahead” or “please”: Si accomodi pure.

The choice between tu and Lei reflects social distance, age, workplace culture, and regional or personal preference. Tu is common among friends, relatives, children, classmates, and many colleagues. Lei remains useful with strangers, customers, professionals, and in explicitly formal settings. If a group is addressed, modern Italian normally uses voi, whether the relationship is informal or polite: Entrate, per favore.

Written instructions often use alternatives to the personal imperative. Signs may use the infinitive, especially negatively (Non fumare), while recipes and manuals may use an impersonal construction or the infinitive: Aggiungere l’acqua e mescolare (“Add the water and stir”). These forms avoid choosing tu, Lei, or voi.

Beyond the Basics / Advanced Use

The Loro imperative

Very formal language can address multiple people with a third-person plural form based on the subjunctive: entrino, prendano, finiscano. You may hear Entrino, signori in highly formal service encounters, but everyday Italian usually prefers voi: Entrate, signori. Recognising the Loro form is more important than producing it.

Two pronouns in one command

Italian can attach a combined indirect and direct object to an affirmative informal command:

• Dammelo. — Give it to me.
• Portaglielo. — Take it to him/her.
• Spiegacelo. — Explain it to us.
• Diteglielo. — Tell it to him/her/them.

These are single written words. Before combining them, make sure you are comfortable with the individual pronouns and with forms such as me lo, glielo, and ce lo.

Commands reported indirectly

The imperative is used when speaking directly to the person expected to act. When you report or relay a command, Italian normally changes the structure: Il medico mi ha detto di riposare (“The doctor told me to rest”), not a standalone imperative. Formal administrative language may instead use a subjunctive introduced by che: Che nessuno entri (“Let no one enter”).

Imperatives used as discourse markers

Some imperative forms develop conversational meanings beyond literal commands. Senti can introduce a topic (“Listen…”), guarda may mean “look” or soften a correction, and figurati can mean “don’t mention it” or “imagine!” depending on context. Their tone cannot always be translated word for word, so learn them from complete conversations.

Practice Tips

1. Build four-form sets. Take five common verbs and say the tu, Lei, noi, and voi commands aloud: entra, entri, entriamo, entrate. Then make each one negative. This exposes the special negative tu pattern quickly.
2. Attach one pronoun at a time. Transform a full phrase into a command: comprare il pane → compra il pane → compralo; dire a me → dimmi. Add combined pronouns only after single ones feel automatic.
3. Notice register in real instructions. Collect commands from recipes, signs, apps, and conversations. Label each as tu, Lei, noi, voi, or impersonal infinitive, and ask why that form suits the audience.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Regular -ARE Verbs — provides the verb stems and present-tense patterns that many imperative forms build on.