IMPERATIVO!(per
comandare...)Giving commands in Italian...Giving commands in Italian...
How fun!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 VERBSFor 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 VERBSFor TU form: -I Ex: SCRIVI!For LEI form: -A Ex: SCRIVA!For NOI form: -IAMO Ex: SCRIVIAMO!For VOI form: -ETE Ex: SCRIVETE!
-IRE VERBSFor 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” VERBSTU 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 mini-word 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!
ESSEREAVEREANDAREDAREDIREFARESTARE
ESSERE
TU: SiiLei: SiaNoi: SiamoVoi: Siate
AVERE
Tu: AbbiLei: AbbiaNoi: AbbiamoVoi: Abbiate
ANDARE
Tu: Vai/Va’Lei: VadaNoi: AndiamoVoi: Andate
DARE
Tu: Dai/Da’Lei: DiaNoi: DiamoVoi: Date
DIRE
Tu: Di’Lei: DicaNoi: DiciamoVoi: Dite
FARE
Tu: Fai/Fa’Lei: FacciaNoi: FacciamoVoi: Fate
STARE
Tu: Stai/Sta’Lei: StiaNoi: StiamoVoi: State
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