Imperative: Informal and Polite Requests

In brief

Use the Italian imperative to ask someone to do something or to give a simple instruction. Choose the informal tu form with someone you address casually; use the Lei form to sound polite with someone you do not know well.

Form

For regular verbs, affirmative tu: parla (parlare), prendi (prendere), dormi (dormire). Polite Lei: parli, prenda, dorma. For a negative tu command, use non + infinitive: non parlare. With Lei, use non + polite form: non parli.

Usage

• Add per favore to make a request friendlier; the verb form still shows whether you are using tu or Lei.
• Use non before the verb to tell someone not to do something.

Examples

• Chiudi la porta, per favore. — Close the door, please.
• Mi dica il suo nome, per favore. — Please tell me your name.
• Non toccare il forno! — Don’t touch the oven!
• Non entri, per favore. — Please don’t come in.

Common mistake

❌ Non chiudi la porta!

✅ Non chiudere la porta!

For an informal negative command, use non + the infinitive. Non chiudi can describe what someone is not doing, but it is not the tu command ‘Don’t close’.

Remember

With tu, a negative command takes the infinitive after non; with polite Lei, keep the polite verb form.