A2 · The imperative
The negative imperative
« Don't » leaves the verb alone; here it rebuilds it.
At a glance
- Remember
- Only the singular you negates with an infinitive.
- Form
- parla! → non parlare!speak! → do not speak!
- Signal words
- non fare
- non parlare
- non andare
- dimmi
- dammi
- Trap
- Wrong:Non parlare tutti insieme, ragazzi!Right:Non parlate tutti insieme, ragazzi!
Your turn
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The form
How the forms are built
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Italian. The colours show what changes from one form to the next.
stem (regular) tense marker person ending negation
| speak! → do not speak! | parla! → non parlare! |
| do! → do not do! | fai! → non fare! |
| go! → do not go! | vai! → non andare! |
| do not speak! | (tu) non parlare! |
| do not speak! (formal) | (Lei) non parli! |
| let’s not speak! | (noi) non parliamo! |
| do not speak! (to several people) | (voi) non parlate! |
| do not speak! (formal, plural) | (Loro) non parlino! |
| tell it to me! | dimmelo! |
| do not tell it to me! | non dirmelo! |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
The singular you form becomes the infinitive.
Non parlare così forte!Do not speak so loudly!
Every other person stays as it is.
Non parlate tutti insieme!Do not all speak at once!
The pronoun may stand in front or behind.
Non me lo dire adesso.Do not tell me now.
The short forms double the following consonant.
Dammi un minuto, per favore.Give me a minute, please.
Example sentences
Non preoccuparti, va tutto bene.Do not worry, everything is all right.
Non dimenticare le chiavi!Do not forget the keys!
Dimmi la verità, per favore.Tell me the truth, please.
Non toccare niente in questa stanza.Do not touch anything in this room.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English negates every imperative the same way, with one word added and the verb untouched, so nothing warns you that here the rule changes with the person addressed. The infinitive belongs to tu and to nobody else: non parlare is « do not speak » to one person, and non parlate is the same thing to several. Using the infinitive for a group produces no sentence at all.
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
In the singular « you » Italian negates an order with the infinitive: fai! becomes non fare!, parla! becomes non parlare!, vai! becomes non andare!
No other language on this site does that, and it holds for tu alone. In every other person the form stays as it was and takes a non in front: non parlate!, non parli!
The pronoun may then stand in front or behind: non me lo dire and non dirmelo are both correct. In the affirmative it always attaches at the back: dimmelo.
And the shortened order forms double the pronoun's first letter: da’ → dammi, fa’ → fammi, di’ → dimmi, sta’ → stammi. Only gli never doubles: digli.
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The verbs on this page, in every form: parlare · dire