Italian Imperative: Tu, Lei, Voi, Noi and Every Pronoun Attached

🔍 Cosa impareremo oggi

• How Italian splits the imperative into four faces: tu, noi, voi and the formal Lei.
• Why non + infinitive is the negative tu (not non + imperative) and when both pronoun positions are fine.
• The five irregular monosyllables va’, da’, di’, fa’, sta’ and why dammelo has a double m.
• Lei/Loro imperatives borrowing from the present subjunctive, and why pronouns move in front.
• Public-sign infinitives (Spingere, Tirare, Non disperdere nell’ambiente) and the four odd verbs sii, abbi, sappi, vogli.
• A Milano cooking-class dialog with every imperative shape, a cheat-sheet table, a 6-gap mini-challenge and quiz 128 to lock it in.

The Italian imperativo is how you tell a friend to sit down, how a chef barks orders at the stove, how a formal waiter asks you to follow them, and how a road sign in Bologna says Spingere on the door. It looks simple on paper: four people (tu, noi, voi, Lei) and one job. In practice English speakers keep slipping on three tripwires — negative tu flips to the infinitive, the Lei form is really the subjunctive, and a pronoun welded to a short imperative doubles the consonant. This guide walks through all of them in A2 to B1 order, with the shapes you meet every day at the bar, in a shop, in a Milano kitchen.

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What is the Italian imperativo and what can it do?

The imperative is the mood of commands, invitations, instructions and warnings. Italian uses it for the same range English does — orders at home, pleas at the doctor, recipes, sports coaches, road signs — but it slices the grammar differently. There are four distinct forms:

• tu — the informal second-person singular: Parla! (Speak up!)
• noi — the “let’s” form: Andiamo! (Let’s go!)
• voi — second-person plural, a single “you all”: Venite! (Come on, everybody!)
• Lei — the formal singular, borrowed from the present subjunctive: Signora, si accomodi. (Please have a seat, madam.)

Loro (formal plural) exists on paper as si accomodino, but almost nobody uses it in speech any more. Contemporary Italian has collapsed polite-plural into voi, so the living pattern is tu / noi / voi / Lei. English only really marks two shapes (bare imperative speak and let’s speak); Italian marks four. That mismatch is exactly where mistakes cluster.

🔍 Register first, grammar second. The choice between parla, parlate and parli is less about “how many people” and more about who you are speaking to. A shop owner will say Mi dica (Lei) to a customer she just met, dimmi (tu) to a regular, and ditemi (voi) to a group of kids. Pick the register before you pick the ending.

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The tu form: regular imperatives for -are, -ere and -ire

For the informal singular, Italian has a tidy rule. The 2nd-person singular imperative is:

• -are verbs → -a: parlare → parla! (speak), cantare → canta! (sing), aspettare → aspetta! (wait)
• -ere verbs → -i: prendere → prendi! (take), mettere → metti! (put), scrivere → scrivi! (write)
• -ire verbs → -i: dormire → dormi! (sleep), aprire → apri! (open), sentire → senti! (listen)
• -ire isc-verbs → -isci: finire → finisci! (finish), capire → capisci! (get it!), pulire → pulisci! (clean up)

Notice the asymmetry: -are ends in -a, the other conjugations end in -i. Beginners often say *parli* to a friend, which accidentally sounds formal (that’s the Lei form). The safest rehearsal sentence is the split pair:

• Marco, parla più forte, non ti sento.
  Marco, speak louder, I can’t hear you.
• Dottoressa, parli pure liberamente.
  Doctor, please speak freely.

Same verb, two endings, two registers. The -a form is warm; the -i form is polite. Nail that contrast early and the rest of the guide will feel smaller than it looks.

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Noi and voi: “let’s do it” and “do it, you guys”

The noi and voi imperatives are free gifts: they are identical to the present indicative. No new endings to memorize.

• Dai, andiamo al mercato prima che chiuda.
  Come on, let’s go to the market before it closes.
• Mangiamo qualcosa di veloce e poi usciamo.
  Let’s eat something quick and then head out.
• Ragazzi, ascoltate bene le istruzioni del capotreno.
  Guys, listen carefully to the conductor’s instructions.
• Prendete una sedia e sedetevi vicino al camino.
  Grab a chair and sit near the fireplace.

English has to insert “let’s” for the first shape and drop the subject for the second; Italian simply conjugates the verb and lets context do the work. In recipes, gym classes and group hikes, noi-imperatives carry half the communication: mescoliamo, aggiungiamo, riposiamoci.

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The negative tu: why Italian jumps to the infinitive

This is the single biggest tripwire for English speakers. To tell someone informally “don’t do X”, Italian does not add non to the imperative. It uses non + infinitive:

• Affermativo: Parla più piano, per favore.
  Speak more softly, please.
• Negativo: Non parlare così forte, svegli il bambino.
  Don’t speak so loud, you’ll wake the baby.
• Affermativo: Mangia tutta la pasta finché è calda.
  Eat all the pasta while it’s hot.
• Negativo: Non mangiare con le mani, prendi la forchetta.
  Don’t eat with your hands, grab the fork.
• Affermativo: Corri a prendere l’ombrello, sta per piovere.
  Run and grab the umbrella, it’s about to rain.
• Negativo: Non correre sul bagnato, scivoli.
  Don’t run on the wet floor, you’ll slip.

Only the tu form flips to the infinitive. Negative noi, voi and Lei keep their usual shape and just add non:

• Non parliamo di lavoro a tavola, per favore. (noi)
  Let’s not talk about work at the table, please.
• Non parlate tutti insieme, non vi capisco. (voi)
  Don’t all speak at once, I can’t follow you.
• Non parli troppo in fretta, non riesco a prendere appunti. (Lei)
  Don’t speak too fast, I can’t take notes.

🔍 Why the infinitive? The historical answer is a Latin construction (noli + infinitive “be unwilling to…”) that contracted over centuries. For learners, it is easier to treat it as a stand-alone rule: negative tu = non + infinitive, full stop. The imperative tu is never preceded by non on its own.

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The five irregular tu forms: va’, da’, di’, fa’, sta’

Five short verbs carry a second, clipped imperative alongside the regular one:

• andare → vai or va’ (go)
• dare → dai or da’ (give)
• dire → di’ (say) — this one has no long form
• fare → fai or fa’ (do, make)
• stare → stai or sta’ (stay)

The apostrophe marks troncamento, a cut that happened in spoken Italian and survived in writing. Both forms coexist on the page and in speech. Va’ via! and Vai via! both mean “go away”. The short forms feel slightly more bookish or, in poetry and slogans, more punchy; the long forms dominate casual speech. Either is correct.

• “Va’ a prendere il pane e torna subito.”
  “Go grab the bread and come straight back.”
• “Di’ a tua sorella che la cena è pronta.”
  “Tell your sister dinner is ready.”
• “Fa’ come ti ho spiegato e non improvvisare.”
  “Do as I explained and don’t improvise.”
• “Sta’ fermo un attimo, ti sistemo il colletto.”
  “Stay still for a moment, let me fix your collar.”

One side note worth parking here: dai is also the most common Italian interjection — think “come on!”. “Ma dai, non piangere per questo.” = “Oh come on, don’t cry over this.” That usage is frozen, always dai, never da’, and it has nothing to do with the verb dare beyond sharing the shape.

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Essere, avere, sapere, volere: sii, abbi, sappi, vogli

Four verbs have their own imperative bodies that do not come from the present indicative. They are rare in raw frequency but high in polite register, so they are worth a pass:

• essere (be): tu sii, voi siate. “Sii paziente con lui, è nuovo.” / Be patient with him, he’s new.
• avere (have): tu abbi, voi abbiate. “Abbi cura di te e richiamami.” / Take care of yourself and call me back.
• sapere (know, but as imperative = “be aware that”): tu sappi, voi sappiate. “Sappi che non sono d’accordo.” / Just so you know, I don’t agree.
• volere (want, as imperative = “kindly, please”): tu vogli, voi vogliate. “Vogliate scusare il ritardo, partiamo fra cinque minuti.” / Kindly excuse the delay, we will depart in five minutes.

You will meet vogliate constantly in airport announcements, hotel emails, bureaucratic letters: Vogliate confermare la vostra prenotazione entro venerdì. It is the most polite “please” Italian has.

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Lei and Loro: the formal imperative is the subjunctive

Here is where English speakers really stumble. To tell someone formally (Lei) to do something, Italian borrows the present subjunctive, 3rd person singular. The endings are:

• -are verbs → -i: parlare → parli, aspettare → aspetti, entrare → entri
• -ere verbs → -a: prendere → prenda, mettere → metta, scrivere → scriva
• -ire verbs → -a: dormire → dorma, aprire → apra, venire → venga
• -ire isc-verbs → -isca: finire → finisca, capire → capisca, pulire → pulisca

Irregular verbs follow the present subjunctive shape: essere → sia, avere → abbia, andare → vada, fare → faccia, dare → dia, dire → dica, stare → stia, venire → venga, uscire → esca.

• Signora, prego, si accomodi qui vicino alla finestra.
  Madam, please have a seat here by the window.
• Dottor Rossi, venga pure avanti, la stavamo aspettando.
  Doctor Rossi, do come in, we were waiting for you.
• Per favore, mi scusi e mi dica tutto dall’inizio.
  Please pardon me and tell me everything from the start.
• Non parli così in fretta, non riesco a seguirla.
  Don’t speak so fast, I can’t keep up with you.

🔍 Lei pronouns go before the verb. This is the second half of the trap. With tu, pronouns weld to the end (dimmi, ascoltami); with Lei they stand in front: mi dica, mi ascolti, si accomodi, lo prenda. Saying *dicami* marks you instantly as a learner.

The Loro form (plural Lei) is grammatically si accomodino, prendano, dicano, but in contemporary Italian it is almost extinct. Native speakers switch to voi for groups: a waiter addresses a table of four with accomodatevi, not si accomodino. Park Loro as “recognize it, produce voi”.

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Attaching pronouns and the consonant-doubling trick

With the informal imperatives (tu, noi, voi), pronouns attach to the end of the verb, forming a single word:

• “Ascoltami, è importante quello che ho da dirti.”
  “Listen to me, what I have to tell you is important.”
• “Prendilo subito prima che scappi di nuovo il gatto.”
  “Grab him right away before the cat runs off again.”
• “Diciamoci la verità: la riunione era noiosa.”
  “Let’s be honest with each other: the meeting was boring.”
• “Alzatevi, la maestra sta entrando in aula.”
  “Stand up, the teacher is walking into the classroom.”

When the imperative is one of the five short monosyllables (va’, da’, di’, fa’, sta’) and a pronoun attaches, the first consonant of the pronoun doubles. The short form drops its apostrophe and welds with the pronoun:

• da’ + mi → dammi. “Dammi il sale, per favore.” / “Pass me the salt, please.”
• di’ + mi → dimmi. “Dimmi tutto senza filtri.” / “Tell me everything, no filter.”
• fa’ + lo → fallo. “Fallo adesso o non lo farai mai.” / “Do it now or you’ll never do it.”
• va’ + ci → vacci. “Vacci piano con quel caffè, è fortissimo.” / “Take it easy with that coffee, it’s seriously strong.”
• sta’ + ci → stacci. “Stacci attento, la strada è ghiacciata.” / “Watch your step, the road is iced over.”

Two pronouns together? Same move, stacked. The classic is da’ + me + lo → dammelo / “give it to me”. Compare:

• “Dammelo per favore, è mio.”
  “Give it to me please, it’s mine.”
• “Fammi sapere quando arrivi alla stazione.”
  “Let me know when you get to the station.”
• “Dille che sono arrivato e che la aspetto sotto casa.”
  “Tell her I’ve arrived and I’m waiting downstairs.”

🔍 Gli never doubles. The consonant-doubling rule has one exception: gli (to him / to them). You get digli, fagli, dagli, vagli — one g, not two. So: digli la verità (tell him the truth), dagli una mano (give him a hand), fagli vedere la foto (show him the photo).

For the formal Lei, the rule flips: pronouns stand in front of the verb, separated by a space. Si accomodi, mi dica, lo prenda, gli telefoni, se ne vada. Keep “Lei pronouns before, tu pronouns attached” as one sticky pair.

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Non parlarmi or non mi parlare? Two positions, same meaning

Negative tu already flipped the verb to the infinitive. When a pronoun joins the party, Italian gives you both options with identical meaning:

• Non mangiarlo se è caduto per terra. vs Non lo mangiare se è caduto per terra.
  Don’t eat it if it fell on the floor.
• Non preoccuparti del treno, pensaci domani. vs Non ti preoccupare del treno, pensaci domani.
  Don’t worry about the train, deal with it tomorrow.
• Non dirmelo di nuovo, ti ho già sentito. vs Non me lo dire di nuovo, ti ho già sentito.
  Don’t say it to me again, I heard you the first time.

Both positions are fully standard. The attached version (non mangiarlo) is slightly more compact and common in speech; the split version (non lo mangiare) feels a touch more emphatic, almost like a warning. Neither is wrong. Pick one, stay consistent within the same sentence.

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Spingere, Tirare, Lavare: the infinitive as public-sign imperative

Walk around any Italian train station or hospital and you will read bare infinitives everywhere, used as generic commands aimed at no one in particular:

• Spingere / Push — the classic door sign.
• Tirare / Pull — the other door sign.
• Non disperdere nell’ambiente / Do not litter — printed on every bottle.
• Non scendere prima che il treno sia fermo / Do not get off before the train has stopped.
• Lavare prima di tagliare / Wash before cutting — on packaged vegetables.

Reflexive signs go third-person: Mettersi in fila (line up), Non sporgersi dal finestrino (do not lean out the window). The rationale is practical: signs address “anyone who reads”, not a specific tu or Lei. The infinitive is register-neutral — one size fits all.

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One-page cheat sheet: parlare, prendere, finire

Three verbs, every person, positive and negative. Print this and pin it over the desk.

Person	parlare (speak)	prendere (take)	finire (finish)
tu +	parla	prendi	finisci
tu −	non parlare	non prendere	non finire
noi +	parliamo	prendiamo	finiamo
noi −	non parliamo	non prendiamo	non finiamo
voi +	parlate	prendete	finite
voi −	non parlate	non prendete	non finite
Lei +	parli	prenda	finisca
Lei −	non parli	non prenda	non finisca

The pattern to carry away: -are verbs swap (tu takes -a, Lei takes -i), -ere and -ire verbs do the opposite (tu takes -i, Lei takes -a / -isca). Negative tu always flips to non + infinitive; the other three forms just add non upfront.

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Dialog: a pasta class in Milano Brera

Scuola di cucina Tre Galli, Milano Brera, Thursday night. Chef Marta runs a hands-on class on tagliatelle. Ethan, an American at B1, has just walked in. Signora Galli, a lady in her seventies, arrived first and is already wearing an apron. Imperatives are flagged in bold. Pronouns attached or preceding are tagged in brackets.

• 👩🏻‍🍳 Marta (a Signora Galli, Lei): “Signora, prego, si accomodi al bancone e prenda un grembiule pulito.”
  “Madam, please have a seat at the counter and grab a clean apron.”
• 👵🏻 Signora Galli: “Grazie, chef. Mi dica cosa devo fare.”
  “Thank you, chef. Tell me what I need to do.”
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Marta (a Ethan, tu): “Ethan, vieni qui e dammi la farina. Non mettere troppo sale, ne basta un pizzico.”
  “Ethan, come over here and pass me the flour. Don’t put in too much salt, a pinch is enough.”
• 🧑🏼‍🦱 Ethan: “Eccola, chef. Fammi vedere come si impasta.”
  “Here it is, chef. Show me how you knead it.”
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Marta: “Ragazzi, adesso impastiamo insieme. Non tirate via la pasta dal piano, spingetela con il palmo.”
  “Everybody, now let’s knead together. Don’t yank the dough off the counter, push it down with your palm.”
• 🧑🏼‍🦱 Ethan: “Così?”
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Marta: “Sta’ calmo, non serve forza. Non impastarlo per più di cinque minuti o diventa troppo elastico.”
  “Stay relaxed, you don’t need to push. Don’t knead it for more than five minutes or it gets too stretchy.”
• 👵🏻 Signora Galli: “Ethan, assaggialo quando è cotto, così capisci la consistenza.”
  “Ethan, taste it once it’s cooked, that way you understand the texture.”
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Marta (al tavolo): “Ora portateglielo alle signore al tavolo in fondo. E dite loro che è la prima tagliatella della giornata.”
  “Now take it to the ladies at the far table. And tell them it’s the first tagliatella of the day.”
• 🧑🏼‍🦱 Ethan: “Chef, non mi sgridi se rompo qualche nido.”
  “Chef, don’t scold me if I break a few nests.”
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Marta (sorridendo): “Abbi pazienza, sii gentile con la pasta e lei sarà gentile con te. Vacci piano.”
  “Be patient, be gentle with the dough and the dough will be gentle with you. Take it easy.”

The dialog cycles through every imperative shape you met so far: plain tu (vieni, dammi, assaggialo), negative tu (non mettere, non impastarlo), irregular tu (sta’, vacci, dammi), noi (impastiamo), voi (non tirate, spingetela, dite, portateglielo), Lei (si accomodi, prenda, mi dica, non mi sgridi), and the polite abbi / sii. If you can parse this exchange, you own the imperative.

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Common mistakes English speakers make (and how to fix them)

• ❌ Non parla così forte. → ✅ Non parlare così forte. — Negative tu is non + infinitive, not non + imperative.
• ❌ Dicami il Suo nome. → ✅ Mi dica il Suo nome. — With Lei, pronouns stand in front of the verb, never attached.
• ❌ Dami la mano. → ✅ Dammi la mano. — After the short monosyllables da’, di’, fa’, va’, sta’, the pronoun’s first consonant doubles (exception: gli).
• ❌ Parli più piano, Marco. → ✅ Parla più piano, Marco. — With a friend use tu (-a), not Lei (-i). Accidentally formal sounds cold between friends.
• ❌ Mangia non con le mani. → ✅ Non mangiare con le mani. — Negation comes before the verb, and it flips tu to the infinitive.
• ❌ Accomodisi. → ✅ Si accomodi. — The reflexive pronoun si precedes the Lei form, it does not attach.

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🎯 Mini-sfida: six gaps to fill

Six short prompts. Write the imperative in the gap. Answers are collapsed below.

1. (tu, aprire) _______ la finestra, fa caldo.
2. (tu negativo, mangiare) _______ così in fretta, ti fa male.
3. (Lei, venire) _______ pure avanti, la prego.
4. (tu + mi, dare) _______ un bicchiere d’acqua, per favore.
5. (voi, non parlare) _______ tutti insieme, non vi capisco.
6. (Lei + mi, dire) _______ tutto dall’inizio, senza saltare dettagli.

Show the key

1. Apri la finestra, fa caldo.
2. Non mangiare così in fretta, ti fa male.
3. Venga pure avanti, la prego.
4. Dammi un bicchiere d’acqua, per favore.
5. Non parlate tutti insieme, non vi capisco.
6. Mi dica tutto dall’inizio, senza saltare dettagli.

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Ready to practice your imperatives with a live teacher? The Milano group course (A2 to B1) meets twice a week online, small groups, and every session gives you room to bark recipes, give directions, tell stories — and get the negative tu right without thinking. Join the Milano group →

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Test yourself: the Italian imperative quiz

Thirty mixed questions covering every form you met above: positive and negative tu, the five monosyllables, Lei and voi, pronoun attachment and consonant doubling. Take it once, come back in a week, take it again.

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FAQ: the questions English-speaking learners really ask

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Related guides to keep building

• Italian combined pronouns: me lo, te la, glielo — the full map of double pronouns you attach to dammelo, diccelo, portaglielo.
• Italian present subjunctive — the mood that powers every Lei imperative, one level deeper.
• Italian reflexive verbs — how alzati, si accomodi, non preoccuparti work under the hood.
• The Italian infinitive — the form behind Spingere, Tirare, Non scendere and the negative tu.