Italian conjugation explanation
Truncated Imperatives (apostrophe forms)
<p>In Italian, five common monosyllabic verbs involve a special <strong>truncation</strong> (shortening) in the second person singular (<span style="font-style: italic;">tu</span>) of the
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext" href="/study/tenseGuideForTense/44/" target="_blank">Imperative</a>
. These forms are spelled with an <strong>apostrophe</strong> at the end.</p><p>The apostrophe is crucial because it indicates that the final syllable or letter of the original form has been dropped. It also helps distinguish these verb forms from prepositions or other words that look similar.</p>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">The 5 Truncated Verbs</div>
<p>The following verbs drop the final <span style="font-style: italic;">-i</span> or the final syllable and replace it with an apostrophe:</p>
<ul>
<li> <div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/fare/" title="Click to see conjugations for fare" target="_blank">fare</a>
(to do/make) → fai → <span class="green_emphasis">fa'</span></div> <div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Fa'</span> colazione prima di uscire. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Have breakfast before leaving.</span>)</div> </li><li> <div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/andare/" title="Click to see conjugations for andare" target="_blank">andare</a>
(to go) → vai → <span class="green_emphasis">va'</span></div> <div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Va'</span> via! (<span style="font-style: italic;">Go away!</span>)</div> </li><li> <div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/stare/" title="Click to see conjugations for stare" target="_blank">stare</a>
(to stay/be) → stai → <span class="green_emphasis">sta'</span></div> <div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Sta'</span> fermo, per favore. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Stand still, please.</span>)</div> </li><li> <div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/dare/" title="Click to see conjugations for dare" target="_blank">dare</a>
(to give) → dai → <span class="green_emphasis">da'</span></div> <div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Da'</span> il libro a Mario. (<span style="font-style: italic;">Give the book to Mario.</span>)</div> </li><li> <div>
<a class="conjugation_explanation_link_intext verb_link" href="/study/conjugations/ita/dire/" title="Click to see conjugations for dire" target="_blank">dire</a>
(to say/tell) → dici → <span class="green_emphasis">di'</span></div> <div class="conjugation_explanation_example_sentence"><span class="green_emphasis">Di'</span> la verità! (<span style="font-style: italic;">Tell the truth!</span>)</div> </li></ul>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Important Spelling Distinctions</div>
<p>One of the most common mistakes is confusing the imperative forms with prepositions or indicative forms. The spelling changes the meaning entirely:</p>
<strong>1. Dare (da' vs. dà vs. da)</strong>
<ul>
<li><span class="green_emphasis">da'</span> = Give! (Imperative <span style="font-style: italic;">tu</span>) → apostrophe</li> <li><span class="brown_emphasis">dà</span> = He/She gives (Indicative <span style="font-style: italic;">lui/lei</span>) → accent mark</li> <li><span style="font-style: italic;">da</span> = from (Preposition) → no mark</li> </ul>
<strong>2. Dire (di' vs. dì vs. di)</strong>
<ul>
<li><span class="green_emphasis">di'</span> = Tell! (Imperative <span style="font-style: italic;">tu</span>) → apostrophe</li> <li><span class="brown_emphasis">dì</span> = day (Noun) → accent mark</li> <li><span style="font-style: italic;">di</span> = of (Preposition) → no mark</li> </ul>
<strong>3. Fare (fa' vs. fa)</strong>
<ul>
<li><span class="green_emphasis">fa'</span> = Do! (Imperative <span style="font-style: italic;">tu</span>) → apostrophe</li> <li><span class="brown_emphasis">fa</span> = He/She does (Indicative <span style="font-style: italic;">lui/lei</span>) → no mark</li> </ul>
<div class="conjugation_explanation_title">Conjugation Tables</div>
<p>In the following tables, the truncated imperative forms are highlighted for the second person singular (<span style="font-style: italic;">tu</span>) . Note that for regular forms, <span style="font-style: italic;">fai, vai, stai,</span> and <span style="font-style: italic;">dai</span> are also gramatically acceptable, but the truncated forms are extremely frequent in speech.</p>
<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><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">fa'<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(tu)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">fai<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Lei)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">faccia<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(noi)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">facciamo<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(voi)
</span>fate
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Loro)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">facciano<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></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/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><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">di'<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Lei)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">dica<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(noi)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">diciamo<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(voi)
</span>dite
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Loro)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">dicano<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></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/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><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">va'<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(tu)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">vai<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Lei)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">vada<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(noi)
</span>andiamo
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(voi)
</span>andate
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Loro)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">vadano<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></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/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><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">sta'<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(tu)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">stai<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Lei)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">stia<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(noi)
</span>stiamo
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(voi)
</span>state
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Loro)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">stiano<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></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/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><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">da'<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(tu)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">dai<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Lei)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">dia<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(noi)
</span>diamo
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(voi)
</span>date
</span>
</div>
</div>
<div class="study_conjugations_forms conjugation_forms">
<div class="conjugation_form">
<span><span class="study_conjugations_pronoun conjugation_pronoun">
(Loro)
</span><span class="irregular_conjugation" title="irregular conjugation">diano<span class="irregularity_circle">●</span></span></span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>