The imperativo is the mood of commands, requests, instructions, advice, and invitations — every time you tell someone to do something. In Italian it has some quirks that English-speaking learners do not expect: the imperative behaves differently in the affirmative and the negative, the formal forms borrow their endings from the subjunctive, and clitic pronouns play a much bigger role here than in any other tense.
This page is the map. Each section points to the dedicated subpage with full conjugations and examples.
Five persons, no first-person singular
You cannot give yourself an order in Italian — there is no io imperative. The imperative paradigm has five persons:
| Person | Use | Example (parlare) |
|---|---|---|
| tu | informal singular: friends, family, kids, animals | parla! (speak!) |
| Lei | formal singular: strangers, elders, clients, customers | parli! (speak!) |
| noi | inclusive: "let's..." | parliamo! (let's speak!) |
| voi | plural (formal or informal) | parlate! (speak!) |
| Loro | formal plural — very rare in modern Italian | parlino! (speak!) |
In modern Italian, Loro as a formal plural is essentially extinct outside very ceremonious contexts (a maître d' addressing a table of clients, a courtroom). For all practical purposes, the formal plural is just voi. The four imperatives you actually need to master are tu, Lei, noi, voi.
Marco, parla più piano!
Marco, speak more quietly! (tu — informal)
Signora, parli pure liberamente.
Madam, please speak freely. (Lei — formal)
Parliamo di qualcos'altro.
Let's talk about something else. (noi)
Ragazzi, parlate uno alla volta!
Guys, speak one at a time! (voi)
The big asymmetry: affirmative vs negative tu
Italian has a peculiarity that surprises every learner: the negative tu imperative does not use the affirmative form negated. Instead, it uses non + the infinitive.
Parla!
Speak! (affirmative tu)
Non parlare!
Don't speak! (negative tu — note: infinitive, not parla)
You cannot say non parla! to mean "don't speak." You have to say non parlare! Mechanically, it looks like Italian is telling you "don't to speak" — and that's exactly what's happening. Standard Italian uses the infinitive as the negative command for tu and only for tu.
This is unique among standard Romance languages — Spanish uses a special negative subjunctive form (no hables), French uses the same form negated (ne parle pas). Italian invented its own solution. Full treatment: imperativo: tu negative.
The other persons (Lei, noi, voi) simply add non in front of the same form they use affirmatively:
Non parli, per favore.
Please don't speak. (Lei — same form, just with non)
Non parliamo di lavoro stasera.
Let's not talk about work tonight. (noi)
Non parlate tutti insieme!
Don't all speak at once! (voi)
Where each form comes from
This is the second piece of strangeness: the imperative endings are not all "imperative" endings. Italian patches together its imperative paradigm from two other moods.
| Person | Affirmative form (-are example) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| tu | parla! | Specific imperative ending (-a for -are; -i for -ere/-ire) |
| Lei | parli! | Borrowed from congiuntivo presente, 3sg |
| noi | parliamo! | Same as presente indicativo, 1pl (also same as congiuntivo presente, 1pl) |
| voi | parlate! | Same as presente indicativo, 2pl |
| Loro | parlino! | Borrowed from congiuntivo presente, 3pl |
This means once you know the congiuntivo presente, you already know the formal imperative. Parli! (speak — to a stranger) is literally che parli without the che. Si accomodi! (please make yourself comfortable) is the same form you use after penso che for "I think you'd make yourself comfortable."
Sia gentile, mi può aiutare?
Be so kind — could you help me? (Lei imperative, irregular: from essere)
Abbia pazienza, è una situazione complicata.
Have patience, it's a complicated situation. (Lei imperative, irregular: from avere)
The tu form: the part you'll actually need
For most everyday speech with friends, family, and acquaintances, you will be using tu imperatives. The basic rule:
- -are verbs: drop -are, add -a → parla, lavora, ascolta, guarda
- -ere and -ire verbs: drop the ending, add -i → prendi, scrivi, dormi, finisci
There are also five irregular tu imperatives that show truncation (va', da', di', fa', sta') and two that are wholly irregular (sii from essere, abbi from avere). Full treatment: imperativo: tu form.
Vieni qui un attimo.
Come here a second.
Senti, ho una domanda.
Listen, I have a question.
Aspetta, ho dimenticato le chiavi.
Wait, I forgot the keys.
Clitic pronouns: where they go matters
The imperative is the mood where clitic pronouns become very visible, because their position depends on whether the command is affirmative or negative, and on which person you are using.
Rule for tu, noi, voi
In the affirmative, clitics attach to the end of the verb as a single word:
Dimmi tutto.
Tell me everything. (di' + mi → dimmi)
Aiutami!
Help me! (aiuta + mi)
Parliamone domani.
Let's talk about it tomorrow. (parliamo + ne)
Scrivetegli oggi.
Write to him today. (scrivete + gli)
In the negative, the clitic can attach to the infinitive (most common, most natural) or precede the verb (slightly more emphatic, slightly older-sounding):
Non dirmelo!
Don't tell me! (most natural)
Non me lo dire!
Don't tell me! (also acceptable, slightly more emphatic)
Rule for Lei (and Loro)
Clitics always precede the formal imperative — never attach. This is consistent with how clitics behave in the congiuntivo (which is what the formal imperative is, after all).
Mi dica pure, signora.
Please tell me, madam. (clitic precedes — never *dicami)
Si accomodi.
Please make yourself comfortable. (reflexive si precedes)
Non si preoccupi.
Don't worry. (negative — clitic still precedes)
This is the single most reliable way to spot a formal vs informal imperative in spoken Italian: listen for clitic position.
Pragmatics: imperatives sound stronger than you think
The imperative is the most pragmatically loaded mood in Italian. A bare imperative like "Parla!" can sound abrupt or even rude depending on context — much like a bare English imperative ("Speak!"). Native speakers soften commands constantly with:
- per favore / per piacere / per cortesia (please)
- scusa / scusi (excuse me, depending on register)
- un attimo (just a sec)
- the conditional (potresti...? — could you...?)
- the formal Lei imperative, which is itself a politeness marker
Mi passi il sale, per favore?
Could you pass me the salt, please? (request as question)
Scusa, mi presti un attimo la penna?
Sorry, could you lend me the pen for a sec?
Parla pure liberamente.
Feel free to speak openly. (the particle 'pure' softens dramatically)
The little particle pure is almost untranslatable but extremely useful: added to an imperative, it converts a command into an invitation or permission ("go ahead and..."). Entra pure = "do come in." Si accomodi pure = "please, do make yourself comfortable."
Common mistakes
❌ Non parla, ti prego!
Incorrect — negative tu imperative requires the infinitive, not the affirmative form.
✅ Non parlare, ti prego!
Correct — non + infinitive is the negative tu form.
❌ Dicami tutto.
Incorrect — clitics never attach to the formal Lei imperative.
✅ Mi dica tutto.
Correct — formal Lei takes preceding clitics.
❌ Parli più piano! (to a friend)
Incorrect register — parli is the formal Lei form. Using it with friends sounds stiff or sarcastic.
✅ Parla più piano! (to a friend)
Correct — tu form for informal address.
❌ Non si preoccupa.
Incorrect — non si preoccupa is the indicative, not the imperative. The Lei imperative form is preoccupi.
✅ Non si preoccupi.
Correct — Lei imperative.
❌ Loro parlino piano!
Sounds extremely formal/archaic. In modern Italian, addressing a group politely just uses voi.
✅ Parlate piano, per favore.
Correct for modern usage — voi works for any plural address.
Key takeaways
The Italian imperative has five persons but no io form. The truly distinctive piece is the asymmetry between tu affirmative (special form: parla, prendi, dormi) and tu negative (uses non + infinitive: non parlare). The formal Lei form is borrowed from the congiuntivo presente, and clitic pronouns attach to tu/noi/voi affirmatives but precede Lei always.
Next, dive into the tu form for the regular and irregular tu imperatives, and the negative tu to lock in the non + infinitive rule. Once those are solid, you have the imperatives you'll use 90% of the time.
Now practice Italian
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Open the Italian course →Related Topics
- 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.
- Congiuntivo Presente: Regular VerbsB1 — The regular present subjunctive in Italian — endings, models for all four conjugation classes, and the singular fact about it that explains why Italians keep their subject pronouns when they normally drop them.
- Congiuntivo Presente: Irregular VerbsB1 — Italian's irregular present subjunctives are not random — almost every one is built on the first-person singular of the indicative. Learn the rule and you'll never have to memorize an irregular subjunctive again.
- Presente: Regular -are VerbsA1 — How to conjugate the largest and most regular class of Italian verbs in the present indicative — and how to avoid the stress trap that gives away every learner.