Italian 5.3. Imperative Mood & Giving Commands

In Italian, the imperative mood is generally used for giving commands or instructions in the affirmative or the negative. We have so far encountered the indicative and the subjunctive moods. The imperative is considered a separate mood in Italian.

The imperative mood in Italian can be used for giving commands in the singular or plural form and can be formal or informal. Thus, we have four cases:

1. Singular informal (i.e., “tu” form)
2. Singular formal (i.e., “Lei” form)
3. Plural informal (i.e., “voi” form)
4. Plural formal (i.e., “Loro” form)

Each of the above can be used in the affirmative or the negative. In addition to these four cases of imperative commands, we will study commands using “noi.”

Singular Informal Imperative

To give commands to a single person in an informal way, we use the present indicative in the second-person singular form, i.e., “tu,” in the affirmative and the infinitive in the negative. The only exception is the “-are” verbs in the affirmative, which use the present indicative in the third-person singular form, i.e., “Lei,” for example:

Comprami un caffè.	Buy me a coffee.
Cammina piano.	Walk slowly.
Lavati le mani.	Washyour hands.
Non mentirmi.	Don’t lie to me.
Non parlare velocemente.	Don’t speak fast.

Notice that if there is a pronoun related to the verb, e.g., reflexive or indirect object pronoun, it is attached to the affirmative imperative or the infinitive in case of the negative imperative.

There are a few common irregular verbs in the affirmative singular informal command form.

Infinitive	Command	Example
essere	sii	Sii educato.	Be polite.
andare	vai (or) va’	Vai a scuola.	Go to school.
avere	abbi	Abbi tutto.	Have it all.
dire	di’	Di’ la verità.	Tell the truth.
fare	fai (or) fa’	Fai i tuoi compiti.	Do your homework.
stare	stai (or) sta’	Stai tranquillo!	Calm down!

Singular Formal Imperative

To give commands to a single person in a formal way, we use the present subjunctive in the third-person singular form, i.e., “Lei” form, in both the affirmative and the negative, for example:

Signora, entri da qui, per favore.	Ma’am, enter from here, please.
Signore, non fumi qui, per favore.	Sir, don’t smoke here, please.

There are a few common irregular verbs in the affirmative singular formal command form.

Infinitive	Command	Example
essere	sia	Sia educato.	Be polite.
andare	vada	Vada a Londra.	Go to London.
avere	abbia	Abbia tutto.	Have it all.
dare	dia	Dia quello che può.	Give what you can.
dire	dica	Dica la verità.	Tell the truth.
fare	faccia	Faccia la cosa giusta.	Do the right thing.
stare	stia	Stia tranquillo!	Calm down!
uscire	esca	Esca da questa parte.	Exit this way.
venire	venga	Venga con noi.	Come with us.

Plural Informal Imperative

To give commands to a group of people, we use the present indicative in the second-person plural informal form in both the affirmative and the negative; that is, the form used with “voi,” for example:

Ragazzi, fate i compiti.	Boys, do the homework.
Non fumate qui.	Don’t smoke here.

The verbs “essere” and “avere” are irregular. The plural informal imperative forms of “essere” and “avere” are “siate” and “abbiate,” respectively.

Plural Formal Imperative

To give commands to a group of people, we use the present subjunctive in the second-person plural formal (or polite) form in both the affirmative and the negative; that is, the form used with “Loro,” for example:

Signore, seguano le istruzioni.	Ladies, follow the instructions.
Signori, non fumino qui, per favore.	Gentlemen, don’t smoke here, please.

The verbs “essere” and “avere” are also irregular here. The plural formal imperative forms of “essere” and “avere” are “siano” and “abbiano,” respectively.

Commands using “Noi”

Similar to the expression “let’s do something” in English, commands using “noi” in Italian express the same idea and can be affirmative or negative. Both use the present indicative, for example:

Facciamo i compiti.	Let’s do our homework.
Non fumiamo.	Let’s not smoke.
Andiamo!	Let’s go!

Next: The Conditional Tenses

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