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Punto di partenza

The imperativo is the form of a verb that is used for commands, requests, suggestions, and for giving directions or instructions. The informal imperative consists of the tu, noi, and voi forms only.

Porta fuori la spazzatura!Take out the trash!

Mettete l’acqua nella caffettiera.Put the water in the coffee maker.

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• The affirmative imperative forms of regular verbs are identical to the present tense, except that the tu form of -are verbs ends in -a rather than -i.

Lava i piatti, Mariarosa!Wash the dishes, Mariarosa!

Usate il forno, ragazzi!Use the oven, guys!

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Finiamo questo lavoro!Let’s finish this work!

Sparecchiamo la tavola!Let’s clear the table!

• The noi imperative corresponds to English expressions with Let’s.

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• Essere and avere are irregular in the informal imperative.

Abbiate pazienza!Be patient!

Sii buono, Giovanni!Be good, Giovanni!

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andare dare dire fare stare

va’ (vai) da’ (dai) di’ fa’ (fai) sta’ (stai)

• A few verbs have irregular tu forms that can be used interchangeably with the regular present-tense forms. Dire has an irregular form only.

Va’ (Vai) a letto subito!Go to bed immediately!

Su, fa’ (fai) le faccende!Come on, do the chores!

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Ecco la pizza. Mangiala!Here is the pizza. Eat it!

Lavatevi le mani, bambini!Wash your hands, children!

• Attach object and reflexive pronouns to the end of the informal imperative form.

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Hai un segreto? Dimmelo!You have a secret? Tell it to me!

Non hai fatto il letto? Fallo subito!You didn’t make your bed? Do it at once!

Antonio, dove sei? Stammi vicino.Antonio, where are you? Stay close to me.

Lucia non ha la scopa? Dagliela!Lucia doesn’t have the broom? Give it to her!

• When using the commands va’, da’, di’, fa’, and sta’ with attached object pronouns, drop the apostrophe and double the initial letter of the pronoun, except in the case of gli.

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Non dormite fino a tardi.Don’t sleep late.

Non facciamo niente stasera!Let’s not do anything tonight!

• To form the negative voi and noi imperative forms, simply place non before the verb.

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Sergio, non bere troppo!Sergio, don’t drink too much!

Non sporcare la terrazza, Luca.Don’t dirty the terrace, Luca.

• The negative tu imperative, however, is expressed differently. To form it, place non before the infinitive form of the verb.

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Va bene, non dirmelo/ non me lo dire!OK, don’t tell it to me!

È un porcile. Non ci entrate/Non entrateci.It’s a pigsty. Don’t go in there.

Non beviamolo./Non lo beviamo.Let’s not drink it.

Non portargliela./Non gliela portare!Don’t bring it to them!

• With the negative imperative forms, either place object and reflexive pronouns before the verb or attach them to the end. Because the negative tu form is an infinitive, remember to drop the final -e when attaching pronouns to it.

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1. Ragazzi, (guarda / guardate) la televisione nel soggiorno.

2. Mamma, (prepari / prepara) il ferro per stirare.

3. Francesco, (mi aiuti / aiutami) a pulire la stanza.

4. Fabio, (trasloca / traslochi) nella casa accanto alla nostra.

5. Gino, (subaffitti / subaffitta) l’appartamento insieme a noi.

6. Beatrice e Daniela, (porti / portate) fuori la spazzatura prima di cena.

7. Senti, Teresa, (vendiamo / vende) quel divano; è orribile.

8. Chiara, (ti siedi / siediti) su quella poltrona.

Scegli la forma corretta dell’imperativo informale per completare ogni frase.