This page is the consolidated reference for the Italian imperative — every paradigm, every irregular, every clitic rule, every politeness adjustment, all on one page. Use it as the lookup sheet you come back to when you forget which form fa' takes with gli, or whether finite is the imperative of finire, or how to politely ask a stranger to move.
For the conceptual framing of why the imperative behaves the way it does — the affirmative/negative split, the borrowing from the subjunctive, the asymmetry between informal and formal — see the imperative overview. The dedicated subpages on each person and rule are linked throughout.
The five persons at a glance
There is no io imperative — you cannot give yourself an order in Italian. Everything else is here:
| Person | Use | Built from |
|---|---|---|
| tu | informal singular: friends, family, kids | presente indicativo (with -are exception) |
| Lei | formal singular: strangers, professionals | congiuntivo presente 3sg |
| noi | let's... | presente indicativo noi |
| voi | plural (both informal and modern formal) | presente indicativo voi |
| Loro | formal plural — archaic, ceremonial | congiuntivo presente 3pl |
Regular paradigms by class
The three model regular verbs — parlare (-are), credere (-ere), dormire (-ire) — show the pattern for each conjugation class.
| Person | parlare | credere | dormire |
|---|---|---|---|
| tu | parla! | credi! | dormi! |
| Lei | parli! | creda! | dorma! |
| noi | parliamo! | crediamo! | dormiamo! |
| voi | parlate! | credete! | dormite! |
| Loro | parlino! | credano! | dormano! |
Note the pattern: for tu, noi, voi the form is identical to the present indicative. The only twist is tu of -are verbs: imperative is parla (-a), not parli (which is the indicativo) — this is the one exception to "imperative = indicativo" for tu. For -ere and -ire verbs, tu imperative and tu indicativo are identical (both credi, dormi).
The Lei and Loro forms are the corresponding congiuntivo presente forms.
Parla più piano, mi fai mal di testa.
Speak more quietly, you're giving me a headache.
Creda a quello che dico, signora, è la verità.
Believe what I'm saying, ma'am, it's the truth.
Dormi un altro po', è ancora presto.
Sleep a bit longer, it's still early.
Parliamone domani con calma.
Let's talk about it tomorrow calmly.
Credete pure a quello che vi dice il dottore.
Go ahead and believe what the doctor tells you.
The -isco subgroup of -ire verbs
The -ire/-isco verbs (finire, capire, preferire, pulire, etc.) take the -isco infix in tu and Lei imperative — but not in noi and voi.
| Person | finire | capire | preferire |
|---|---|---|---|
| tu | finisci! | capisci! | preferisci! |
| Lei | finisca! | capisca! | preferisca! |
| noi | finiamo! | capiamo! | preferiamo! |
| voi | finite! | capite! | preferite! |
| Loro | finiscano! | capiscano! | preferiscano! |
Finisci il piatto, sennò niente dolce!
Finish your plate, or no dessert!
Capisca la mia situazione, signora.
Please understand my situation, ma'am.
Essere and avere
The two essential auxiliaries:
| Person | essere | avere |
|---|---|---|
| tu | sii! | abbi! |
| Lei | sia! | abbia! |
| noi | siamo! | abbiamo! |
| voi | siate! | abbiate! |
| Loro | siano! | abbiano! |
Sii paziente, sta arrivando.
Be patient, he's coming.
Abbiate cura di voi stessi.
Take care of yourselves.
Sia gentile, mi indichi la strada per il duomo.
Be kind, point me toward the cathedral.
The high-irregularity verbs
Six verbs have notable irregularities in the imperative. Five of them produce monosyllabic apostrophized tu forms that trigger the consonant-doubling rule with attached clitics.
| Verb | tu | Lei | noi | voi | Loro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| andare | va' / vai | vada | andiamo | andate | vadano |
| dare | da' / dai | dia | diamo | date | diano |
| fare | fa' / fai | faccia | facciamo | fate | facciano |
| dire | di' | dica | diciamo | dite | dicano |
| stare | sta' / stai | stia | stiamo | state | stiano |
| venire | vieni | venga | veniamo | venite | vengano |
The short tu forms (va', da', fa', di', sta') are the everyday spoken forms; the longer ones (vai, dai, fai, stai) are also acceptable and are more common before vowels. Dire has only the short form di' — dici is the indicativo, never the imperative. Venire has no short form: vieni only.
Va' a comprare il pane, per favore.
Go buy some bread, please.
Fai attenzione attraversando.
Be careful crossing.
Di' la verità, nessuno si arrabbia.
Tell the truth, no one will get mad.
Sta' calmo, gestisco io la situazione.
Stay calm, I'll handle the situation.
Vieni qui, ti voglio mostrare una cosa.
Come here, I want to show you something.
Vada sempre dritto fino al semaforo.
Go straight ahead until the traffic light.
The doubling rule
When a single-syllable clitic (mi, ti, ci, lo, la, ne, but not gli) attaches to the short tu imperatives, the initial consonant of the clitic doubles.
| Bare |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| va' | vammi | vatti | vacci | vallo | vanne | vagli |
| da' | dammi | datti | dacci | dallo | danne | dagli |
| fa' | fammi | fatti | facci | fallo | fanne | fagli |
| di' | dimmi | — | dicci | dillo | dinne | digli |
| sta' | stammi | statti | stacci | — | stanne | stagli |
Combined clitics (me, te, glie, ce + lo/la/ne) work the same way: dammelo (give it to me), daccela (give it to us, fem.), fammelo sapere (let me know), diccelo (tell us about it). For the full discussion, see clitic attachment with the imperativo.
Dimmi tutto, sono qui per ascoltarti.
Tell me everything, I'm here to listen.
Dammi un secondo che rispondo al telefono.
Give me a second, I need to answer the phone.
Fammi sapere se hai bisogno di un passaggio.
Let me know if you need a ride.
Dagli quello che ti ha chiesto, è tuo fratello.
Give him what he asked you for, he's your brother.
Negation: the asymmetry
The negative imperative is regular for every person except tu. For tu, the negative is non + infinitive. For all the others, just put non in front of the affirmative form.
| Person | Affirmative (parlare) | Negative (parlare) |
|---|---|---|
| tu | Parla! | Non parlare! |
| Lei | Parli! | Non parli! |
| noi | Parliamo! | Non parliamo! |
| voi | Parlate! | Non parlate! |
| Loro | Parlino! | Non parlino! |
Non venire stasera, sto male.
Don't come tonight, I'm not feeling well.
Non si preoccupi, troviamo una soluzione.
Don't worry, we'll find a solution.
Non parlatemi così davanti agli ospiti.
Don't speak to me like this in front of the guests.
For the full treatment of the negative tu, including the two equivalent clitic positions (non parlarmi / non mi parlare), see the negative tu imperative.
Clitic attachment rules summary
| Form | Clitic placement | Example |
|---|---|---|
| tu, noi, voi affirmative | attached (one word) | parlami, parliamone, scrivetegli |
| Lei, Loro formal | preposed (separate) | mi dica, si accomodino |
| negative tu | either position | non parlarmi / non mi parlare |
| negative noi/voi/Lei/Loro | same as affirmative | non preoccupatevi / non si preoccupi |
| tu short forms + 1-syl clitic | doubling (except gli) | dammi, dimmi, vacci / dagli, digli |
Politeness ladder summary
In ascending order of deference:
| Rung | Template | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | bare imperative | Chiudi la porta. |
| 2 | imperative + per favore | Chiudi la porta, per favore. |
| 3 | puoi/può + infinitive | Puoi chiudere la porta, per favore? |
| 4 | potresti/potrebbe + infinitive | Potresti chiudere la porta, per favore? |
| 5 | ti/Le dispiacerebbe + infinitive | Le dispiacerebbe chiudere la porta? |
| 6 | volevo chiederti se... (imperfetto di cortesia) | Volevo chiederLe se potrebbe chiudere la porta. |
For when each rung is appropriate, see softened imperatives. The basic rule of thumb: bare imperative is for intimates, kids, and emergencies; everything else gets at least per favore and usually a modal or conditional softener too.
Common mistakes
❌ Tu parli più piano!
Incorrect for -are imperative — tu of parlare is parla, not parli (parli is the indicativo).
✅ Parla più piano!
Correct — tu imperative of -are verbs ends in -a.
❌ Non parla così!
Incorrect — negative tu uses the infinitive: non parlare.
✅ Non parlare così!
Correct — non + infinitive for negative tu.
❌ Dami il libro.
Incorrect — short imperative + single-syllable clitic doubles the consonant.
✅ Dammi il libro.
Correct — double m.
❌ Diggli che sono qui.
Incorrect — gli is the exception, no doubling.
✅ Digli che sono qui.
Correct — single g with gli.
❌ Dicami, signora. (formal Lei)
Incorrect — formal imperatives never take enclitics.
✅ Mi dica, signora.
Correct — clitic in front of the formal verb.
❌ Voi finiscate i compiti.
Incorrect — voi does not take the -isco infix.
✅ Finite i compiti.
Correct — voi imperative of finire is regular finite.
❌ Chiudi la porta. (to a stranger)
Wrong register — too direct with someone you don't know.
✅ Mi scusi, potrebbe chiudere la porta?
Correct register — Lei + conditional + opening with mi scusi.
Key takeaways
The Italian imperative is a five-person system with no first-person singular. The tu form is borrowed from the indicativo (with a -are quirk: parla, not parli); the Lei and Loro forms come from the subjunctive; noi and voi are identical to the indicativo. Negation is regular except for the tu, which uses non + infinitive.
The two production-side traps are:
The doubling rule with short tu imperatives + clitics: dammi, dimmi, fammi, vacci, stammi — but never doubling with gli (digli, dagli, vagli).
The politeness ladder: bare imperative is much stronger in Italian than in English. In any non-intimate context, reach for puoi, potresti, potrebbe, Le dispiacerebbe, or volevo chiederti — and pile per favore on top.
Master these two and the rest of the imperative is mechanical. For deeper treatment of any single piece, see the dedicated subpages: tu, Lei, noi, voi, Loro, negative tu, clitic attachment, and softened requests.
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- L'Imperativo: OverviewA2 — How Italian gives commands: the five-person imperative system, the strange asymmetry between affirmative and negative, and the borrowing of the formal forms from the subjunctive.
- Imperativo: Tu Form (Informal Singular)A2 — How to give commands to one person you address informally — including the truncated va', da', di', fa', sta' forms and the consonant doubling they trigger with clitics.
- Imperativo: Negative Tu FormA2 — Why 'don't speak!' to a friend is non parlare! and not non parla! — the one place in Italian where the infinitive serves as a direct command.
- Imperativo: Lei Form (Formal Singular)A2 — How to give polite commands and requests to one stranger or person of higher status — borrowed from the congiuntivo presente, with clitics that precede rather than attach.
- Imperativo: Noi Form (Let's)A2 — How Italian expresses 'let's go!' with a single conjugated form — the noi imperative, identical to the presente indicativo, with clitics that attach to the end.
- Imperativo: Voi Form (Plural)A2 — How to give commands and instructions to a group in Italian — the voi imperativo, identical to the present indicative voi, and the workhorse plural command form in modern Italian.
- Imperativo: Loro Form (Formal Plural)B1 — The Loro imperative — the formal plural command form, borrowed from the present subjunctive, now reduced to a few highly formal contexts and a handful of fossil expressions.
- 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.
- Softened Imperatives (per favore, puoi, potresti)A2 — How Italians actually ask people to do things — the politeness ladder from bare imperative to formal modal request, and when each rung is appropriate.