IMPERATIVO!
(per comandare...)
Giving commands in Italian...
How fun!
Why Commands?
Italians love to order people
around - Can you think of
anyone that does that every
day, Monday through Friday?
Commands are also used to
give advice or as an invitation
to do something specific
How do we change verbs
to make them work as
commands?
Let’s start by saying that you
can’t give commands to
yourself (well...you could, but
we’ll avoid it!)
Also, you can’t give commands
to people that are outside of the
picture - lui/lei/loro
So who can we order
around?
We can give commands to a person - or people
- we speak to directly
That could be TU - if it’s friendly and informal
Or it could be LEI - if it’s a formal approach
Or it could be NOI - if you’re giving a command
to a group that you are part of
Or it could even be VOI - if there is more than
one person in question (not YOU - but YOU
GUYS)
Of course, it will be the endings
to make verbs take a command
form
And, of course, each verb
family (-ARE -ERE -IRE) has a
different set of endings.
Ready to explore them? Here
they are!
-ARE VERBS
For TU form: -A Ex: GUARDA!
For LEI form: -I Ex: GUARDI!
(Notice how they endings
swithed?)
For NOI form: -IAMO Ex:
GUARDIAMO! (Same old...)
For VOI form: -ATE Ex:
GUARDATE! (Same old...)
-ERE VERBS
For TU form: -I Ex: SCRIVI!
For LEI form: -A Ex: SCRIVA!
For NOI form: -IAMO Ex:
SCRIVIAMO!
For VOI form: -ETE Ex:
SCRIVETE!
-IRE VERBS
For TU form: -I Ex: APRI!
For LEI form: -A Ex: APRA!
For NOI form: -IAMO Ex:
APRIAMO!
For VOI form: -ITE Ex:
APRITE!
-IRE “ISC” VERBS
TU and LEI: Drop the -O off the IO
form - Ex: PULISCO/PULISC - then
add
For TU form: -I Ex: PULISCI!
For LEI form: -A Ex: PULISCA!
NOI and VOI remain “normal”!
For NOI form: -IAMO Ex: PULIAMO!
For VOI form: -ITE Ex: PULITE!
How about telling someone NOT to
do something?
For TU form: Keep the verb in -ARE ERE and -IRE form and place NON in
front of it.
Ex: Non mangiare! Non scrivere! Non
dormire!
For LEI/NOI/VOI forms: Simply add NON
in front of their command forms. Ex:
(LEI) Non mangi! (NOI) Non scriviamo!
(VOI) Non dormite!
With reflexive verbs (Mirror Verbs actions reflected onto the subject)
For TU - NOI - VOI forms: Attach the
reflexive mini-word or object at the
end of the verb.
Ex. #1: Lavare/tu - Lava! But:
Lavarsi/tu - Lavati!
For LEI form: Keep the reflexive miniword or object detached and place it
before the verb.
Ex: Lavare/Lei - Lavi! But: Lavarsi/Lei
- Si lavi!
Reflexive Mini-Words Reminder
•
•
•
•
•
•
Io - Mi
Tu - Ti
Lui/Lei - Si
Noi - Ci
Voi - Vi
Loro - Si
What about the irregular verbs?
Lucky you, there’s only seven!
ESSERE
AVERE
ANDARE
DARE
DIRE
FARE
STARE
ESSERE
TU: Sii
Lei: Sia
Noi: Siamo
Voi: Siate
AVERE
Tu: Abbi
Lei: Abbia
Noi: Abbiamo
Voi: Abbiate
ANDARE
Tu: Vai/Va’
Lei: Vada
Noi: Andiamo
Voi: Andate
DARE
Tu: Dai/Da’
Lei: Dia
Noi: Diamo
Voi: Date
DIRE
Tu: Di’
Lei: Dica
Noi: Diciamo
Voi: Dite
FARE
Tu: Fai/Fa’
Lei: Faccia
Noi: Facciamo
Voi: Fate
STARE
Tu: Stai/Sta’
Lei: Stia
Noi: Stiamo
Voi: State