Comandi

The imperative
The imperative is used to give an order, advice, or instructions. Like in English, the imperative form is understood in Italian as being in the second person, and this can be taken as singular (you) or plural (‘you all’). But, while English uses the same base form of the verb without a subject for both singular and plural imperative, Italian have two distinct forms: one for tu (you), and one for voi (you all) even if these subject pronouns are not expressed with the imperative¹Like in English, they are used occasionally to add emphasis or to convey contrast: Cantate voi adesso! (You sing now, please!), Esci tu! Io rimango qua! (You leave! I stay here!). In these cases, as the above examples show, in Italian, the subject pronouns follow the verb, not precede it as they do in English..

As usual, you make the imperative of regular verbs by adding endings to the verb stem, which is what is left when you take away the -are, -ere or -ire.

We’re going to begin with tu (you). This is when you give commands, advice, or instructions to one person and you address them informally.

• For all regular -are verbs, the verb ending will be a (parla, gioca, studia, etc.)
• For all regular –ere and –ire verbs, the verb endings will be i, the same as they always are in the present tense (scrivi, dormi, *finisci, etc.)

Note: verbs such of finire, pulire, etc. (see Unità 6.1) keep –isc– between the root of the verb and the ending i.

For voi (you all) everything is extremely simple since for all regular verbs the imperative forms are identical to their present indicative forms (see Unità 3.2, 6.1): parlate, scrivete, dormite, finite, etc.

The table below displays the imperative patterns for all regular verbs, using parlare (to speak), scrivere (to write), dormire (to sleep) and finire (to finish) as models.

The first plural person noi (we) can’t really have an imperative form, since we don’t command, or give advice to ourselves. By the way, in English, the phrase Let us/Let’s is often considered the first-person plural imperative²It is actually used to provide a hint from the speaker (which is included).. Don’t worry, the Italian equivalent is simply the first-plural person (noi ‘we’) of the present tense. So you translate let’s talk with parliamo, let’s write with scriviamo, let’s sleep with dormiamo, let’s finish with finiamo, and so on.

Since the imperative sounds sharp and abrupt, it is only used in informal situations among friends, co-workers, relatives, or when addressing a child. For this reason, Italians use other forms for formal commands, that in case you will learn later. However, it is always a good idea to make a command less direct and blunt by adding polite phrases such as per favore, per piacere, per cortesia, ti prego (all equivalent to the English please).

As usual, there are some Italian verbs that have irregular forms. You must memorize them. See the table below:

To express the negative imperative, while non is regularly placed in front of the affirmative voi forms ( Non parlate ‘Do not talk’, Non andate via ‘Do not go away’, Non abbiate paura ‘Do not be afraid‘, etc.) for tu instead the negative imperative is formed with non + infinitive form of the verb: John, non parlare (John, do not talk), Non andare via (Do not go away), Non dormire troppo (Do not sleep too much).

Imperative with pronouns
When the imperative is used with pronouns (including the reflexive ones) or the particle ci,  in Italian, you attach them  at the end of the imperative form:

• (Call me) (MI) Chiamami (sing.) / Chiamatemi (pl.) [direct object pronoun]
• (Talk to her) (LE) Parlale (sing.) / Parlatele (pl.) [direct object pronoun]
• (Think about it) (CI) Pensaci (sing.) / Pensateci (pl.) [particle]
• (Wash yourself) (TI) Lavati (sing.) [reflexive pronoun]
• (Wash yourselves) (VI) Lavatevi (pl.) [reflexive pronoun]

In the case of the 2^nd sing. negative form, the pronoun can precede the verb or be attached to the infinitive after dropping its final -e.

• (Don’t call me) (MI) Non mi chiamare / Non chiamarmi  (sing.) / Non chiamatemi (pl.)
• (Don’t talk to her) (LE) Non le parlare / Non parlarle  (sing.) / Non parlatele (pl.)
• (Don’t think about it) (CI) Non pensarci / Non ci pensare (sing.) / Non pensateci (pl.)
• (Don’t wash yourself) (TI) Non ti lavare / Non lavarti (sing.)
• (Don’t wash yourselves) (VI) Non vi lavate (pl.)

When the pronoun/particle attaches to the tu positive forms of dare, fare, andare, stare, and dire, the first consonant of the pronoun doubles, except with the pronoun gli: Dammi (give me), Fallo (do it), Vacci (Go there), Stacci (Stay there), dille (Tell her), but Dagli (Give him/them) Digli/ (Tell him/them), etc.:

• So che c’è un concerto. Vacci! (I know that there is a concert tonight. Go [there]!)
• Fallo per tuo figlio! Lui sarà felice (Do it for your son! He will be happy)
• Digli di venire domani (Tell him/them to come tomorrow)
• Puzzi. Fatti una doccia! (You smell bad! Take a shower)

• Work with another student. Take turns giving advice and orders. Then check if there are mistakes in your spoken Italian using Speech to Text.
• Pretend you must write 10 tips to be a better student. Write down your best advise, Then, with the Spell and Grammar Checker, see if there are mistakes in your written Italian.
• Pretend a friend of yours has a date. Be nice and advise him/her by texting 5 things not to do on the first appointment. Use Spell and Grammar Checker to check if there are mistakes in your written Italian.