Italian conjugation explanation

Affirmative vs. negative commands

<p>In Italian, the formation of commands depends on whether the command is affirmative (do this!) or negative (don't do this!). The most significant changes occur in the informal singular form (<span style="font-style: italic;">tu</span>).</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Informal commands (Tu)</div>

<p>For the informal singular &quot;you&quot;, affirmative and negative commands follow completely different rules:</p>

<ul>

<li>

<div><strong>Negative commands:</strong> use <strong>Non + Infinitive</strong>. This applies to all verb conjugations (-are, -ere, and -ire).</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><strong>Non mangiare</strong> quella mela! (<span style="font-style: italic;">Don't eat that apple!</span>)</div>

</li>

<li>

<div><strong>Affirmative commands:</strong> follow specific endings based on the verb group.</div>

<ul>

<li>Verbs ending in <strong style="font-style: italic;">-are</strong> change the ending to <span class="green_emphasis">-a</span> (parl<strong>are</strong> &#8594; parl<strong>a</strong>).</li>

<li>Verbs ending in <strong style="font-style: italic;">-ere</strong> and <strong style="font-style: italic;">-ire</strong> change the ending to <span class="green_emphasis">-i</span> (scriv<strong>ere</strong> &#8594; scriv<strong>i</strong>, dorm<strong>ire</strong> &#8594; dorm<strong>i</strong>).</li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

<p>Let's compare the affirmative and negative forms of the regular verb

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/parlare/" title="Click to see conjugations for parlare" target="_blank">parlare</a>

<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/44/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Imperativo</a>

<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(tu)

</span>parla

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(Lei)

</span>parli

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(noi)

</span>parliamo

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(voi)

</span>parlate

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(Loro)

</span>parlino

</span>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/143/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Imperativo negativo</a>

<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(tu) non

</span>parlare

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(Lei) non

</span>parli

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(noi) non

</span>parliamo

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(voi) non

</span>parlate

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(Loro) non

</span>parlino

</span>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Parla</span> con tua madre adesso. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Speak with your mother now.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Non parlare</span> a voce alta. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Don't speak loudly.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Other persons (Noi, Voi, Lei)</div>

<p>For <span style="font-style: italic;">noi</span> (let's...), <span style="font-style: italic;">voi</span> (you plural), and the formal <span style="font-style: italic;">Lei</span> forms, the conjugation remains the same for both affirmative and negative commands. To make them negative, simply place <strong>non</strong> before the verb.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/aprire/" title="Click to see conjugations for aprire" target="_blank">Aprite</a>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Reflexive Verbs</div>

<p>The position of the reflexive pronoun (<span style="font-style: italic;">ti, ci, vi, si</span>) changes depending on formality and whether the command is affirmative or negative.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">1. Informal (Tu, Noi, Voi)</div>

<p>In affirmative commands, the pronoun is <strong>attached to the end</strong> of the verb to form a single word.</p>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence">

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/svegliarsi/" title="Click to see conjugations for svegliarsi" target="_blank">Svegliarsi</a>

<p>In <strong>negative</strong> commands, you have two correct options:</p>

<ul>

<li><strong>Before the verb:</strong> <span style="font-style: italic;">Non</span> + pronoun + verb (Non <span class="in_word_highlight">ti</span> svegliare).</li>

<li><strong>Attached to the end:</strong> <span style="font-style: italic;">Non</span> + verb + pronoun (Non svegliar<span class="in_word_highlight">ti</span>). Note that the final <span style="font-style: italic;">-e</span> of the infinitive is dropped when attaching the pronoun.</li>

</ul>

<p>Let's look at the affirmative and negative forms of

<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/lavarsi/" title="Click to see conjugations for lavarsi" target="_blank">lavarsi</a>

<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/44/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Imperativo</a>

<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(tu)

</span>lavati

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(Lei)

</span>si lavi

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(noi)

</span>laviamoci

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(voi)

</span>lavatevi

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(Loro)

</span>si lavino

</span>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_tense_container">

<a class="study_conjugations_tense_label box_label tense_box no_dark_mode " href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/143/" target="_blank" title="Open tense guide">Imperativo negativo</a>

<div class="study_conjugations_conjugation conjugations_table two_columns">

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">---</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(tu) non

</span>lavarti

</span>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(tu) non

</span>ti lavare

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(Lei) non

</span>si lavi

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(noi) non

</span>laviamoci

</span>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(noi) non

</span>ci laviamo

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms highlighted_conjugation">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(voi) non

</span>lavatevi

</span>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(voi) non

</span>vi lavate

</span>

</div>

</div>

<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">

<div class="conjugation_form">

<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">

(Loro) non

</span>si lavino

</span>

</div>

</div>

</div>

</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><strong>Lavati</strong> le mani! (<span style="font-style: italic;">Wash your hands!</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><strong>Non lavarti</strong> i capelli oggi. / <strong>Non ti lavare</strong> i capelli oggi. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Don't wash your hair today.</span>)</div>

<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">2. Formal Commands (Lei/Loro)</div>

<p>For

<ul>

<li><strong>Affirmative:</strong> (Lei) <strong>Si accomodi</strong>, per favore. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Please make yourself comfortable.</span>)</li>

<li><strong>Negative:</strong> (Lei) <strong>Non si preoccupi</strong>. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Don't worry.</span>)</li>

</ul>