The imperative is the only mood Italian doesn't keep at all when recounting speech. Where a tense like the presente shifts to the imperfetto and a futuro shifts to a condizionale passato, the imperative gets replaced entirely by di + infinitive. This single transformation is the cleanest part of the whole reported-speech system: there is one rule, and it always works. This page covers the construction in full, including the small twist of clitic placement, the handling of negation, and the half-dozen reporting verbs that take a instead of di.
The basic transformation
Direct imperative → di + infinitive.
«Vieni qui!» → Mi ha detto di venire lì.
'Come here!' → He told me to come there.
«Studia!» → Mi ha detto di studiare.
'Study!' → He told me to study.
«Apri la porta!» → Mi ha detto di aprire la porta.
'Open the door!' → He told me to open the door.
«Fa' attenzione!» → Mi ha detto di fare attenzione.
'Be careful!' → He told me to be careful.
«Mangia tutto!» → Mi ha detto di mangiare tutto.
'Eat everything!' → He told me to eat everything.
The infinitive is always invariable, so the verb form doesn't change for person, number, or tense. The reporting verb (ha detto, ha ordinato, etc.) carries the temporal information; the di + infinitive carries the content.
Negative commands
A negative imperative becomes di non + infinitive. The non sits between di and the infinitive.
«Non parlare!» → Mi ha detto di non parlare.
'Don't speak!' → He told me not to speak.
«Non andare via!» → Mi ha detto di non andare via.
'Don't leave!' → He told me not to leave.
«Non aprire la finestra!» → Mi ha detto di non aprire la finestra.
'Don't open the window!' → He told me not to open the window.
«Non dire niente a Marco!» → Mi ha pregato di non dire niente a Marco.
'Don't tell Marco anything!' → He begged me not to tell Marco anything.
«Non preoccuparti!» → Mi ha detto di non preoccuparmi.
'Don't worry!' → He told me not to worry.
Note the last example: the reflexive ti in the original imperative migrates to mi to match the new perspective (the speaker is reporting what was told to them).
Clitics: they attach to the infinitive
When the original imperative carried clitic pronouns (dammi, diglielo, alzati), the clitics in the recounted form attach to the infinitive, with the same orthographic merging.
«Dammi il libro!» → Mi ha detto di dargli il libro.
'Give me the book!' → He told me to give him the book. (perspective shift: mi → gli, since the original speaker is now 'him')
«Diglielo!» → Mi ha detto di dirglielo.
'Tell it to him!' → He told me to tell it to him.
«Alzati!» → Mi ha detto di alzarmi.
'Get up!' → He told me to get up. (ti → mi)
«Vattene!» → Mi ha detto di andarmene.
'Get out of here!' → He told me to leave. (te ne → me ne)
«Sbrigati!» → Mi ha detto di sbrigarmi.
'Hurry up!' → He told me to hurry up.
«Portamelo!» → Mi ha chiesto di portarglielo.
'Bring it to me!' → He asked me to bring it to him. (perspective shift: me → glie-)
When the original imperative was negative and contained a clitic, both forms — pre-infinitive and post-infinitive — exist for the original. In the indirect form, the clitic always attaches to the infinitive:
«Non lo fare! / Non farlo!» → Mi ha detto di non farlo.
'Don't do it!' → He told me not to do it.
Reporting verbs that take DI + infinitive
Many verbs introduce indirect commands. The most common:
| Verb | Meaning |
|---|---|
| dire di | tell to |
| ordinare di | order to |
| comandare di | command to |
| chiedere di | ask to (request) |
| pregare di | beg to / ask politely |
| consigliare di | advise to |
| suggerire di | suggest to |
| raccomandare di | recommend to |
| proibire di | forbid to |
| vietare di | forbid to |
| permettere di | allow to |
| concedere di | grant permission to |
| imporre di | impose / require to |
| invitare a | invite to (note: takes A) |
| esortare a | urge to (note: takes A) |
| incoraggiare a | encourage to (note: takes A) |
| costringere a | force to (note: takes A) |
| obbligare a | oblige to (note: takes A) |
| autorizzare a | authorize to (note: takes A) |
| spingere a | push to (note: takes A) |
Most take di; a recognizable subset takes a. The a-takers tend to involve pushing, urging, or formally allowing — there is no airtight semantic rule, so memorize them as a list.
Mi ha ordinato di uscire.
He ordered me to leave.
Le ha consigliato di riposare.
He advised her to rest.
Gli ho proibito di fumare in casa.
I forbade him to smoke in the house.
Ci ha permesso di entrare.
He let us in.
L'ho invitato a cena.
I invited him to dinner. (invitare takes A)
Il professore ci ha incoraggiati a leggere di più.
The professor encouraged us to read more. (incoraggiare takes A)
Mi ha costretto a dirgli la verità.
He forced me to tell him the truth. (costringere takes A)
The structural pattern
The full schema:
[reporting verb] + [optional indirect object: mi, gli, le, ci, vi, gli/loro] + [di or a] + [infinitive] + [optional direct object or clitic]
Mi ha detto di chiamarlo dopo le sette.
He told me to call him after seven.
Le ha chiesto di passargli il sale.
He asked her to pass him the salt.
Ci ha pregato di non fare rumore.
He begged us not to make noise.
Li ha invitati a presentarsi alle nove.
He invited them to show up at nine.
The indirect object before the reporting verb tells you who was given the command; the clitic on the infinitive (or the noun phrase after it) tells you what they were told to do it to.
Reporting Lei-form imperatives (formal)
A formal Lei imperative ("Mi dia il libro!") transforms into di + infinitive like everything else. The "you" of the original maps to a third-person clitic in the recounted version, since you're speaking about the addressee, not to them.
«Mi dia il libro!» → Mi ha chiesto di dargli il libro.
'Give me the book!' (formal) → He asked me to give him the book.
«Si accomodi!» → Mi ha detto di accomodarmi.
'Make yourself comfortable!' (formal) → He told me to make myself comfortable.
«Non si preoccupi!» → Mi disse di non preoccuparmi.
'Don't worry!' (formal) → He told me not to worry.
The cleanness of the di + infinitive rule means the level of formality of the original command (tu, voi, Lei, Loro) does not affect the indirect form structurally. Only the reporting verb's register and the choice of pronouns reflect the original level.
Recounting commands with future implications
Indirect commands inherit the temporal logic of the reporting verb, not their own. A command given in the past about a future action stays di + infinitive — there is no "future infinitive."
«Domani porta il libro!» → Mi disse di portare il libro il giorno dopo.
'Bring the book tomorrow!' → He told me to bring the book the next day.
«Quando arrivi, chiamami!» → Mi ha detto di chiamarlo quando fossi arrivato.
'When you arrive, call me!' → He told me to call him when I arrived.
The time/place adverbs shift normally (domani → il giorno dopo); the verb structure stays di + infinitive.
Long indirect commands and embedded structure
Il medico le ha consigliato di bere più acqua, di dormire almeno otto ore e di evitare i cibi troppo salati.
The doctor advised her to drink more water, to sleep at least eight hours, and to avoid food that's too salty.
Mio padre mi ha sempre detto di studiare con costanza e di non rimandare mai i compiti all'ultimo momento.
My father always told me to study consistently and never to put off homework until the last minute.
L'allenatore ci ha ordinato di correre intorno al campo, di fare cinquanta flessioni e poi di tornare in spogliatoio.
The coach ordered us to run around the field, do fifty push-ups, and then go back to the locker room.
When several commands are recounted together, repeat di before each infinitive (or before each chain of infinitives), and Italian typically uses commas plus e before the last item.
A real dialogue example
Direct:
La madre al figlio: «Marco, vai in camera tua e fa' i compiti! Non guardare la televisione e spegni il telefono. Quando hai finito, chiamami!»
Recounted:
La madre disse a Marco di andare in camera sua e di fare i compiti, di non guardare la televisione e di spegnere il telefono, e di chiamarla quando avesse finito.
The mother told Marco to go to his room and do his homework, not to watch TV and to turn off the phone, and to call her when he had finished.
Six imperatives in the original, all transformed into di + infinitive in the recounted version, with the time clause ("quando avesse finito") shifted into congiuntivo trapassato to fit the past reporting frame.
Common mistakes
❌ Mi ha detto che vieni qui.
Wrong — an imperative was rendered with 'che' as if it were a statement; should be 'di venire'.
✅ Mi ha detto di venire lì.
He told me to come there.
❌ Mi ha detto di vai.
Wrong — must use the infinitive after 'di', not a finite form.
✅ Mi ha detto di andare.
He told me to go.
❌ Mi ha detto di mi dare il libro.
Wrong — clitic must attach to the infinitive, not precede it.
✅ Mi ha detto di darmi il libro.
He told me to give me the book. (well-formed, even if semantically odd outside specific contexts)
❌ L'ho invitato di venire.
Wrong — 'invitare' takes 'a', not 'di'.
✅ L'ho invitato a venire.
I invited him to come.
❌ Mi ha detto non parlare.
Wrong — needs 'di' before 'non parlare' to form the indirect command.
✅ Mi ha detto di non parlare.
He told me not to speak.
❌ Mi ha ordinato che esca.
Wrong — direct commands don't go through 'che + congiuntivo' in indirect form; use 'di + infinitive'.
✅ Mi ha ordinato di uscire.
He ordered me to leave.
Comparison with English
English has two main indirect-command structures: "told me to leave" (infinitive with "to") and "ordered that he leave" (mandative subjunctive, more formal). Italian uses only the first pattern, generalized: di + infinitive for all reporting verbs of command, request, advice, and prohibition. The English-style mandative subjunctive ("ordered that he leave") doesn't exist in indirect commands — Italian rejects "Mi ha ordinato che io esca" categorically.
The reverse direction tripping point: English speakers sometimes overgeneralize and use "di + infinitive" for what should be a normal che + finite verb statement. Watch the line: a command maps to di + infinitive; a statement maps to che + finite verb. "He said he was tired" → che era stanco, not "di essere stanco." The latter is fine grammatically (it means "he said he was tired" with a coreferential subject) but sounds bookish — for plain reporting of a statement, use che.
Key takeaways
- Imperative → di + infinitive. One rule, no exceptions.
- Negation: di non + infinitive (the non never moves).
- Clitics: always attached to the infinitive, fused into one word.
- Most command-introducing verbs take di; a small set (invitare, costringere, obbligare, incoraggiare, esortare, autorizzare, spingere) takes a.
- The infinitive is invariable, so the construction sidesteps tense shifts entirely — temporal information is carried by the reporting verb and any time adverbs.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- Reported Speech: OverviewB1 — How Italian transforms direct quotation into indirect (reported) speech — the four shifts that happen at once: pronouns, tenses, time markers, and introducing verbs.
- Reported Speech: Tense ShiftsB1 — The full mechanics of how Italian tenses shift backward when the reporting verb is in the past — including the distinctive futuro-to-condizionale-passato shift.
- Reporting QuestionsB1 — How to convert direct questions into indirect form — yes/no questions with se, wh-questions with the wh-word as connector, and the indicative-vs-subjunctive choice in the embedded clause.
- Imperativo: Complete ReferenceA2 — The full imperative paradigm for the most-used Italian verbs across all five persons, with the doubling rule, the negation rules, and the politeness ladder collected in one place.
- Imperativo: Clitic Attachment RulesA2 — The four rules that govern where clitic pronouns go with the imperativo — including the famous consonant-doubling trick of dammi, fammi, dimmi, vacci.
- Infinitive: Clitic AttachmentA2 — Clitic pronouns attach to the end of the infinitive, with the infinitive's final -e dropping: vederlo, dirmi, alzarsi. With modal verbs, the clitic can also climb to before the modal — both positions are correct.