Italian Language Lessons
Grammar, spelling, and usage
Italian Imperative
Workbook Exercises About This Topic
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The imperative verb forms are used to give orders or advice, to urge strongly, and to exhort. It is a simple tense—in the sense that it isn't compound—and has only one form, the present. Furthermore, you can address your command only to an informal form of "you": tu or voi, depending on whether you are talking to one or more people.
When conjugating a first-conjugation Italian verb, the familiar singular (tu) command is the same as the third-person singular (Lei) form of the present indicative, and the plural voi command is the same as the voi form of the present indicative (see the table below).
| FIRST-CONJUGATION VERB IMPERATIVES |
|---|
| INFINITIVE | TU | VOI |
|---|
| cantare | Canta! | Cantate! |
| mangiare | Mangia! | Mangiate! |
| parlare | Parla! | Parlate! |
The familiar commands for regular -ere and -ire verbs are the same as the tu and voi forms of the present indicative (see the table below).
SECOND- AND THIRD-CONJUGATION
VERB IMPERATIVES |
|---|
| INFINITIVE | TU | VOI |
|---|
| dormire | Dormi! | Dormite! |
| finire | Finisci! | Finite! |
| pulire | Pulisci! | Pulite! |
| salire | Sali! | Salite! |
| scrivere | Scrivi! | Scrivete! |
| vendere | Vendi! | Vendete! |
Although the imperative conjugation has a form you're already familiar with, there are some Italian verbs that have irregular forms for the familiar commands in the tu and voi forms (see the table below).
SECOND- AND THIRD-CONJUGATION
VERB IMPERATIVES |
|---|
| INFINITIVE | TU | VOI |
|---|
| andare (to walk) | Va'! | Andate! |
| avere (to have) | Abbi! | Abbiate! |
| dare (to give) | Da'! | Date! |
| dire (to say, to tell) | Di'! | Dite! |
| essere (to be) | Sii! | Siate! |
| fare (to make) | Fa'! | Fate! |
| sapere (to know) | Sappi! | Sappiate! |
| stare (to stay) | Sta'! | State! |
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