The imperative plays a central role in everyday Italian. You hear it in conversations with friends, in the workplace, in public announcements, and even in advertising. Whenever you give instructions, offer advice, or invite someone to do something, you’re using the imperative.

For English speakers, the communicative value of the imperative is not particularly difficult: it functions much like it does in English. The real challenge lies in the morphology. Italian clearly distinguishes between informal and formal forms, and this distinction affects verb endings and pronoun placement.

Understanding how these forms are built—and when to use them—is essential for speaking natural, accurate Italian.

In this article, we’ll look at the formation of formal and informal imperatives, key irregular verbs, pronoun placement, and essential structural differences.

I. The informal imperative

The informal imperative corresponds to the following persons:

• the second person singular (tu)
• the first person plural (noi)
• the second person plural (voi)

Unlike English, where the subject pronoun is usually omitted but can sometimes appear for emphasis (“You listen to me!”), Italian never expresses the subject pronoun in the imperative. The verb ending alone identifies the person.

– Metti in ordine la tua camera!
– Andiamo via.
– Girate a sinistra.

The absence of the subject pronoun is not optional—it is a structural feature of the imperative.

1. Formation of Regular Verbs (Affirmative Form)

To understand the formation of the imperative, let us take three model verbs:

• parlare – first conjugation (-are)
• prendere – second conjugation (-ere)
• partire – third conjugation (-ire)

Table of affirmative forms

Person	Parl-are	Prend-ere	Part-ire
(tu)	parl-a	prend-i	part-i
(noi)	parl-iamo	prend-iamo	part-iamo
(voi)	parl-ate	prend-ete	part-ite

For noi and voi, the form corresponds exactly to the present indicative. This means that no new endings need to be learned.

For the second person singular (tu), the situation is slightly different:

• verbs in –ere and –ire keep the same form as the present indicative (prendi, parti)
• verbs in –are have a special feature: the ending is –a, not –i as in the present indicative

Compare:

• Indicative : tu parli
• Imperative : parla

This vowel change is the main morphological feature of regular verbs in the informal imperative.

– Parla più lentamente.
– Prendi il telefono.
– Parti subito.
– Parliamo con calma.
– Prendete appunti.

2. The negative form (informal imperative)

Negation introduces an important distinction.

For the second person singular (tu), Italian does not use the imperative form. Instead, it uses the infinitive preceded by non.

– Non parlare così forte.
– Non prendere quello.
– Non partire domani.

With noi and voi, the form remains the same as the affirmative:

– Non parliamo troppo.
– Non prendete decisioni affrettate.

3. Irregular verbs (informal form)

Some very common verbs do not follow the regular pattern presented above.

Their irregularity does not concern only the second person singular; other persons may also show specific forms.

Here are the main irregular verbs in the informal imperative:

	Essere	Avere	Sapere	Dire
(tu)	sii	abbi	sappi	di’
(noi)	siamo	abbiamo	sappiamo	diciamo
(voi)	siate	abbiate	sappiate	dite

We observe that:

• the tu form is highly irregular (sii, abbi, sappi, di’)
• voi also has specific forms (siate, abbiate, sappiate)
• noi coincides with the present indicative (siamo, abbiamo, sappiamo, diciamo), but the whole paradigm must still be memorized.

Since these verbs are extremely frequent in everyday communication, it is essential to master their forms from the early stages of learning.

– Anche se non ti piacciono, sii gentile con loro.
– Abbiate ancora un minuto di pazienza, dopo tocca a voi.
– Sappiate che l’esame non è uno scherzo!

3.1 Verbs with two correct forms

Some verbs accept two correct variants in the second person singular.

Verb	Short Form	Longer Form
dare	da’	dai
fare	fa’	fai
andare	va’	vai
stare	sta’	stai

– Va’ via. / Vai via.
– Fa’ attenzione. / Fai attenzione.
– Sta’ tranquillo. / Stai tranquillo.

4. The informal imperative and pronouns

The position of pronouns is one of the most delicate points for English speakers. In Italian, their placement changes depending on whether the imperative is affirmative or negative and on the person used.

4.1 Affirmative imperative: enclitic pronouns

With the affirmative informal imperative, the pronoun attaches directly to the verb, forming a single word. This is called enclitic position.

This phenomenon is systematic with tu, noi, and voi:

– Portami un bicchiere d’acqua.
– Dormiamoci sopra.
– Prendetelo subito.

The verb and the pronoun therefore form a single graphic and phonetic unit.

4.2 Negation with the second person singular

With tu, the negative imperative is formed with non + infinitive, which has direct consequences for pronoun placement.

The pronoun may either:

• remain attached to the verb
• appear before the verb

Both constructions are grammatically correct. The choice depends mainly on style, rhythm, and speaker preference.

4.2.1 Enclitic Position

When the pronoun remains attached to the verb, the final vowel of the infinitive is dropped before adding the pronoun. This avoids a sequence of vowels and ensures smoother pronunciation.

– Non farlo.
– Non dirlo.
– Non prenderla.

4.2.2 Proclitic Position

It is also possible to place the pronoun before the verb. In this case, the verb keeps the full infinitive form and the pronoun behaves as it does with other tenses.

– Non lo fare.
– Non lo dire.
– Non la prendere.

4.3 Consonant Doubling

With certain very common monosyllabic verbs (dire, fare, dare, stare, andare), adding a pronoun causes the initial consonant of the pronoun to double:

– Dimmi.
– Fallo.
– Stallo a sentire.
– Dammelo.
– Va’ a scuola. Vacci subito perchè è tardi.

This doubling is regular and part of standard Italian morphology.

Exception: the pronoun gli does not trigger consonant doubling.

II. The formal imperative (Lei)

The formal imperative corresponds to the polite form Lei.

Morphologically, it derives from the present subjunctive. It is therefore not simply a modified version of the informal imperative, but a distinct grammatical system.

Unlike English, which generally relies on polite expressions (“please”, modal verbs, or indirect phrasing), Italian uses a specific grammatical form.

1. Formation of regular verbs (formal form)

Let us take the same model verbs:

Person	Parlare	Prendere	Partire
(Lei)	parl-i	prend-a	part-a

Notice the vowel pattern reversal compared to the informal form.

– Parli più lentamente.
– Prenda questo documento.
– Parta domani mattina.

2. Negation (formal form)

Negation is straightforward. There is no structural modification: we simply add non.

– Non parli così.
– Non prenda questo medicinale.
– Non parta stasera.

3. Irregular verbs (formal form)

Some extremely common verbs have irregular formal forms:

Verbo	Forma (Lei)
essere	sia
avere	abbia
sapere	sappia
dire	dica
dare	dia
fare	faccia
andare	vada
stare	stia
venire	venga

– Sia paziente.
– Abbia fiducia.
– Dica la verità.
– Vada subito.
– Venga pure.

These forms are especially common in professional, administrative, and institutional contexts.

4. Pronouns with the formal imperative

Unlike the informal form, pronouns always precede the verb in the formal imperative.

– Mi faccia vedere il documento.
– Prego, si accomodi.

The position of the pronoun does not change, even in negative sentences.

– Non lo dica a nessuno.
– Non si preoccupi. Faccio tutto io

This difference in placement is one of the most important distinctions to master.

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Towards Confident and Natural Use

The Italian imperative is a coherent but demanding system. The distinction between informal and formal commands involves:

• Different endings
• Specific irregular verbs
• Distinct pronoun placement patterns

For English speakers, the challenge is not meaning—but morphology and syntax.

Once the patterns are understood and internalized, the imperative becomes a natural and highly productive structure in everyday communication.

Going Further

If you’d like to see all these forms presented in clear, structured tables, you can consult the dedicated imperative grammar sheet in the Sillabi resources.

And if you want to work on Italian grammar in a systematic, step-by-step way with a clear progression designed specifically for English speakers, explore the Allegramente! course.

Before getting started, don’t forget to take our placement test—it will help you identify the level that best fits your profile.