Verbs: Imperative
Look!
Did that get your attention? When telling someone what to do in Italian, use the ending ‑a for ‑are verbs, and ‑i for ‑ere or ‑ire verbs.
Parla al telefono con tua nonna!
Talk on the phone with your grandmother!
Prendi l'ombrello!
Take the umbrella!
Apri la porta!
Open the door!
Bevi più acqua!
Drink more water!
Let's go!
Giving commands in Italian to more than one person at the time is even simpler! If you want to give orders in the noi and voi forms, use the verb endings you're already familiar with.
Andiamo al parco a correre!
Let's go to the park to run!
Teniamo la cosa fra di noi!
Let's keep it between us!
Just change the tone of your voice or add an exclamation mark to make clear you are telling people to do something.
Seguite quella macchina!
Follow that car!
Rimanete dove siete!
Remain where you are!
Dimmi di più!
You've already seen that Italian verbs often go together with short words, like lo, la, mi, ci, etc.
If you are giving a command that needs one of these words, you should always attach them to the end of the verb.
If you are giving a command that needs one of these words, you should always attach them to the end of the verb.
L'insalata è pronta, passiamola agli ospiti!
The salad is ready, let's pass it to the guests!
Chiamiamoci una coppia!
Let's call ourselves a couple!
Oh, and one last thing! A few of these word combinations have special forms, for example dammi and dimmi.
Dammi il cucchiaio!
Give me the spoon!
Dimmi dove vai!
Tell me where you’re going!
Dimmi di più!
Tell me more!