Italian imperative: commands with tu, Lei, noi and voi

The imperative is the verb form for telling someone what to do: instructions, advice, directions, invitations and warnings. «Prendi lo sciroppo dopo cena.» “Take the syrup after dinner.” «Gira a destra e poi vai sempre dritto.» “Turn right and then go straight on.”

Italian has different forms depending on who you are speaking to: tu for a friend or a child, voi for a group, and Lei for a stranger or in a shop, office or pharmacy. The noi form means “let’s”: «Andiamo!» “Let’s go!”. There is no imperative for io.

Tu, noi and voi: the informal commands

For tu, -are verbs end in -a: aspetta, gira, mangia. Verbs in -ere and -ire end in -i, exactly like the present tense: prendi, scrivi, senti, apri. Verbs that add -isc- in the present keep it: finisci, pulisci.

The noi and voi forms are the same as the present tense. Only the tone and the situation make them commands: «Mangiamo!» “Let’s eat!”, «Aspettate qui» “Wait here”, «Finite i compiti» “Finish your homework”.

Verbs with an irregular present usually keep their irregular forms: venire → vieni, venite; uscire → esci, uscite. Essere and avere have special forms: «Sii gentile!» “Be kind!”, «Abbi pazienza» “Be patient”, with the voi forms siate and abbiate.

• Senti, mi presti la penna? · Listen, can you lend me your pen?
• Ragazzi, venite a tavola! · Kids, come to the table!
• Prendiamo un taxi, è tardi. · Let’s take a taxi, it’s late.

Va’, fa’, da’, sta’, di’: the short tu forms

Five common verbs have a short tu form written with an apostrophe: va’ (andare), fa’ (fare), da’ (dare), sta’ (stare) and di’ (dire). For the first four, the present-tense forms vai, fai, dai and stai are just as correct and very common in speech: «Vai a casa!» or «Va’ a casa!». For dire, only di’ is used: «Di’ la verità!» “Tell the truth!”

The short forms matter when a pronoun is attached, because the first consonant of the pronoun doubles: «dimmi» “tell me”, «fammi vedere» “let me see”, «dammi» “give me”, «vacci» “go there”. «Dimmi» is one of the most frequent words in Italian conversation.

Lei: formal commands for strangers and services

When you speak to someone as Lei, the endings swap: -are verbs end in -i, while -ere and -ire verbs end in -a. So «scusi», «aspetti», «giri», but «prenda», «senta», «apra», «finisca». These forms come from the present subjunctive, a verb mood you will meet at B1, so for now simply learn them as the polite command.

Verbs with an irregular present build the Lei form on the io form: vengo → venga, faccio → faccia, vado → vada, dico → dica, esco → esca, bevo → beva. A few are special: essere → sia, avere → abbia, stare → stia, dare → dia.

You hear these forms all the time in service situations: «Scusi, dov’è la farmacia?», «Prenda una compressa dopo i pasti», or «Mi dica», which a shop assistant says to mean “How can I help you?”. To sound more polite, add «per favore», or turn the command into a question: «Può aspettare un momento?». For a group of people, even strangers, the voi form is normal today.

• Signore, prenda la seconda strada a sinistra. · Take the second street on the left, sir.
• Senta, scusi, dov’è la fermata dell’autobus? · Excuse me, where’s the bus stop?
• Venga pure, il dottore è libero. · Do come in, the doctor is free.

Negative commands

For tu, a negative command is «non» plus the infinitive: «Non toccare!» “Don’t touch!”, «Non dimenticare le chiavi» “Don’t forget the keys”, «Non preoccuparti» “Don’t worry”.

For all the other persons, simply put «non» before the affirmative form: «Non aspettiamo più», «Non aprite la finestra», «Signora, non apra la porta». The tu form is the only one that changes.

Pronouns with the imperative: a first look

With affirmative tu, noi and voi commands, object and reflexive pronouns attach to the end of the verb: «Prendilo» “Take it”, «Chiamami» “Call me”, «Alzati!» “Get up!”, «Sediamoci» “Let’s sit down”, «Scrivetemi» “Write to me”.

With Lei, the pronoun stays separate and goes before the verb: «La prenda dopo cena» (the medicine), «Si sieda», «Mi dica». In a negative tu command, both orders are fine: «Non toccarlo» or «Non lo toccare». The details are a topic of their own, the imperative with pronouns.