Imperativo: Negative Tu Form | Italian Grammar

To tell a friend "don't!" in Italian, you do not negate the imperative. You can't just stick non in front of parla! — non parla! is wrong and sounds like a flat statement ("he doesn't speak"). Instead, Italian uses a unique construction: non + infinitive.

This is the only context in standard Italian where a bare infinitive functions as a direct command. Once you know about it, you'll see it everywhere — on signs (Non parlare al conducente "Do not speak to the driver"), in instructions, and in everyday speech. And it applies only to the tu form: the noi, voi, and Lei negative imperatives all behave normally.

The core rule

To form the negative tu imperative:

non + infinitive

That's it. Whatever the verb, take its infinitive, slap non in front of it, and you have a command:

Affirmative tu	Negative tu
parla!	non parlare!
scrivi!	non scrivere!
dormi!	non dormire!
finisci!	non finire!
va'! / vai!	non andare!
di'!	non dire!
fa'! / fai!	non fare!
sii!	non essere!
abbi!	non avere!

The truncated forms (va', di', fa') all revert to the full infinitive in the negative — there is no non va'! or non fa'!

Non parlare a bocca piena, è maleducato.

Don't talk with your mouth full, it's rude.

Non andare via, ti prego, abbiamo bisogno di parlare.

Don't leave, please, we need to talk.

Non dire bugie a tua madre, lo sai che lo scopre sempre.

Don't lie to your mother, you know she always finds out.

Non aver paura del buio, non c'è niente lì.

Don't be afraid of the dark, there's nothing there.

Non fare lo stupido, parliamone con calma.

Don't be silly, let's talk about it calmly.

Clitic placement: two equally valid options

When a clitic pronoun (mi, ti, lo, la, gli, le, ci, ne, etc.) appears with a negative tu imperative, you have a choice. The clitic can either:

(a) Attach to the end of the infinitive (modern, more frequent in everyday speech):

Non parlarmi così, sono tua madre!

Don't talk to me like that, I'm your mother!

Non preoccuparti, va tutto bene.

Don't worry, everything's fine.

Non dirgli niente, è un segreto.

Don't tell him anything, it's a secret.

(b) Stand between non and the infinitive (slightly more formal-feeling but equally correct):

Non mi parlare così, sono tua madre!

Don't talk to me like that, I'm your mother!

Non ti preoccupare, va tutto bene.

Don't worry, everything's fine.

Non gli dire niente, è un segreto.

Don't tell him anything, it's a secret.

Both placements are correct — the meaning is identical. In modern spoken Italian, attachment to the infinitive is slightly more common, especially with reflexives (non preoccuparti is much more frequent than non ti preoccupare, though both are normal). In writing and slightly more formal contexts, separation is equally accepted.

When the infinitive ends in -are, -ere, or -ire and the clitic attaches, the infinitive drops its final -e and the clitic glues on:

non parlare
- mi → non parlarmi
non dire
- gli → non dirgli
non preoccupare
- ti → non preoccuparti

This e-drop is automatic and universal in clitic attachment to infinitives — not specific to imperatives.

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For reflexives in particular, learn the attached form by heart: non preoccuparti (don't worry), non arrabbiarti (don't get angry), non muoverti (don't move), non sederti (don't sit down). These are the everyday spoken defaults.

Comparison with the other persons

The non + infinitive trick is unique to the tu form. Every other person in the imperative system simply takes non in front of its normal affirmative form:

Person	Affirmative	Negative	Negative structure
tu	parla!	non parlare!	non + INFINITIVE
Lei	parli!	non parli!	non + congiuntivo (same as affirmative)
noi	parliamo!	non parliamo!	non + presente (same as affirmative)
voi	parlate!	non parlate!	non + presente (same as affirmative)

So if a Lei command is Parli più piano!, the negative is simply Non parli più piano! — same form, with non prepended. Same for noi (Non parliamo più di questo) and voi (Non parlate tutti insieme!). Only tu swaps in the infinitive.

Non parli, signora, la prego — la lascio finire io.

Don't speak, ma'am, please — I'll let you finish. (Lei: non + congiuntivo)

Non parliamo più di lavoro, siamo a cena.

Let's not talk about work anymore, we're at dinner. (noi: non + presente)

Ragazzi, non parlate tutti insieme, non vi capisco.

Guys, don't all talk at once, I can't understand you. (voi: non + presente)

Marco, non parlare con la bocca piena!

Marco, don't talk with your mouth full! (tu: non + infinitive)

The asymmetry exists because the affirmative tu imperative ends in -a (for -are verbs), which would clash with the negation in unwanted ways — non parla literally reads as "(he/she) doesn't speak," collapsing the imperative into a statement. Substituting the infinitive resolves the ambiguity. Italian made the same trade-off Latin did before it: the infinitive carries no person marking, so it cannot be misread as a 3sg statement.

Why this matters: the infinitive-as-command pattern

This is the only construction in Italian where the bare infinitive serves as a direct command. The pattern is so distinctive that you'll recognize it everywhere once you know it:

Non fumare.

No smoking. (sign: literally 'Don't smoke')

Non toccare la merce.

Do not touch the merchandise. (shop sign)

Non sporgersi dal finestrino.

Do not lean out of the window. (train sign)

Non disturbare.

Do not disturb. (hotel door hanger)

These public signs are formally addressed to the tu — the abstract reader. Italian could have used voi or any other form, but the convention settled on the negative tu construction precisely because it's brief, impersonal-feeling, and unmistakably a command.

Common mistakes

❌ Non parla così con tua madre!

Incorrect — non + parla reads as a statement ('he/she doesn't talk like that'). The negative tu imperative needs the infinitive.

✅ Non parlare così con tua madre!

Correct — non + INFINITIVE is the only structure for negative tu commands.

❌ Non vai via!

Incorrect — vai is the affirmative tu imperative; in the negative, revert to the infinitive.

✅ Non andare via!

Correct — even the truncated/long form imperatives become infinitives in the negative.

❌ Non preoccupare ti.

Incorrect — clitics either attach to the infinitive (with e-drop) or stand between non and the verb. They don't dangle.

✅ Non preoccuparti.

Correct — attached form, with the final -e of preoccupare dropped.

✅ Non ti preoccupare.

Also correct — equally acceptable separated form.

❌ Non di niente a nessuno!

Incorrect — di without an apostrophe is the preposition 'of'. The verb form here must be the infinitive, dire.

✅ Non dire niente a nessuno!

Correct — non + infinitive (dire), with the negative pronoun niente.

❌ Non parlare, signora! (to a stranger)

Incorrect register — non parlare is the negative tu form. To a stranger, use the Lei form: non parli!

✅ Non parli, signora!

Correct — Lei takes the congiuntivo, both affirmative (parli!) and negative (non parli!).

Key takeaways

The negative tu imperative is one of Italian's most distinctive grammatical patterns:

non + infinitive is the only formula. It applies to every verb without exception — including the irregular truncated forms (non andare!, non dire!, non fare!).
Clitics have two valid placements — attached to the infinitive (non parlarmi) or between non and the verb (non mi parlare). Both are correct; attachment is more common in modern speech, especially with reflexives.
Only tu uses this trick. Lei (non parli!), noi (non parliamo!), and voi (non parlate!) all just add non to their normal forms. The asymmetry exists to avoid collapsing the -are imperative into a statement.

For the affirmative side of the same paradigm, see the tu affirmative imperative. For commands to other persons, see Lei formal and noi (let's).

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