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Verb Usage Review / 39

–are verbs ends in –a, while the present tense ends in –i (tu parli). The negative
imperative noi and voi forms are identical to those in the affirmative: the non pre-
cedes the affirmative verb form. The negative form of imperative for tu in all con-
jugations is formed with non + the infinitive of the main verb. The following chart
shows examples of the formation of the forms of the imperative informal.
parlare scrivere partire finire
(tu) parla! (non parlare!) scrivi! (non scrivere!) parti! (non partire!) finisci! (non finire!)
(noi) (non) parliamo! (non) scriviamo! (non) partiamo! (non) finiamo!
(voi) (non) parlate! (non) scrivete! (non) partite! (non) finite!

The verbs avere and essere have irregular imperative forms—for example, Sii te
stessa! (Be yourself!)
avere essere
(tu) abbi! sii!
(noi) abbiamo! siamo!
(voi) abbiate! siate!

The following verbs have irregular tu imperatives that are frequently used instead
of the present-tense forms. The other imperative forms of these verbs are regular,
including the negative forms.
andare: va’ (vai)
dare: da’ (dai)
fare: fa’ (fai)
stare: sta’ (stai)
dire: di’

INFORMAL IMPERATIVE WITH PRONOUNS
In informal affirmative imperative, object (direct or indirect, combined forms, ci
or ne) and reflexive pronouns are attached to the end of the verb to form one word,
no matter how long the word becomes:
Scrivimi appena possible! Write me us soon as possible!
Diciamoglielo! Let’s say it to him.
Sbrigati per favore! Hurry up please!

When the short imperative tu form of andare, dare, fare, stare, or dire is used with
a pronoun, the apostrophe disappears and the first consonant of the pronoun is
doubled (except for the pronoun gli).
dì + mi = dimmi tutto! Tell me everything!
da’ + le = dalle il libro! Give her the book!

If the imperative is negative, the pronouns may be placed either before or after the
verb.
Telefonale! Non le telefonare! Non telefonarle!
Telefoniamole! Non le telefoniamo! Non telefoniamole!
Telefonatele! Non le telefonate! Non telefonatele!