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Non abbandonare mai i tuoi amici.

Non abbandonare mai i tuoi amici.
Never abandon your friends.
From Lesson 388:Eventual outcomes (finire per)·Italian

Breakdown of Non abbandonare mai i tuoi amici.

l'amico
the friend (m)
abbandonare
to abandon, to give up

Questions & Answers about Non abbandonare mai i tuoi amici.

Why is abbandonare in the infinitive here instead of a conjugated form?
In Italian, the negative imperative for the informal singular tu is always formed using non + the infinitive. If this were an affirmative command, it would use the conjugated imperative form abbandona.
What happens if I want to give this same command to a group of people (voi)?
For voi, the negative imperative uses the standard conjugated verb rather than the infinitive. You would say Non abbandonate mai i vostri amici. The non + infinitive rule strictly applies only to tu.
Why does mai come after the verb here instead of right next to non?
In Italian double negatives, the verb must sit between non and the second negative word (like mai, nessuno, or niente). Even though abbandonare is in its infinitive form here, it still acts as the main verb, so the structure must be non + verb + mai.
Is the article i strictly necessary in i tuoi amici?
Yes. Learners often remember that Italian drops the article before possessives for close relationships, but that rule strictly applies to singular, unmodified family members (like tuo fratello or sua madre). Because amici are not family members, and the noun is plural anyway, the definite article i is completely mandatory here.

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