What is the imperative?
We use the imperative when we wantto give orders and instructions.
Here are some examples in English:
- Sit down!
- Come back!
- Open the door.
In today’s lesson, we’re going to focus on how to use the formal imperative with pronouns.
Here’s an example for you to start getting familiarized with it:
Me li porti in camera.
Bring them to me in my room.
How to use the formal imperative in Italian?
We use the formal imperative when we’re addressing someone older, someone we don’t know very well, or someone in a formal context.
Here are the endings for the formal imperative:
- Verbs in -are: -i
- Verbs in -ere: -a
- Verbs in -ire: -a or -isca
Here are the endings of some irregular verbs for the formal imperative:
- Dare (to give): dia
- Dire (to say): dica
- Fare(to do): faccia
And here are some short examples of the formal imperative:
Aspetti!
Wait!
Prenda questo quaderno.
Take this notebook.
Beva questa caffè.
Drink this coffee.
What are pronouns?
Pronouns are short words such as me, him, it, us, and them.
In Italian, we have direct and indirect object pronouns. The first one is an example with a direct object pronoun, the second one is an indirect object pronoun and the third one has both:
Non trovo le mie chiavi. Tu le hai viste?
I cannot find my keys. Have you seen them?
Gli ho detto quello che penso.
I told him what I think.
Quello è il mio libro. Me lo puoi dare?
That’s my book. Can you give it to me?
How to use direct object pronouns with the formal imperative?
Here’s a table with direct object pronouns:
| Italian | Translation |
| lo | him or it (referring to a masculine singular noun) |
| la | her or it (referring to a feminine singular noun) |
| li | them (referring to a masculine plural noun) |
| le | them (referring to a feminine plural noun) |
And here are some examples of direct object pronouns with the formal imperative:
As you can see, we place the direct object pronoun before the formal imperative.
How to use indirect object pronouns with the formal imperative?
Here’s a table with the indirect object pronouns that we use with the formal imperative.
| Italian | Translation |
| mi | (to) me |
| gli | (to) him |
| le | (to) her |
| si | (to) yourself (formal) |
| ci | (to) us |
| gli | (to) them |
Here are some examples of indirect object pronouns in the formal imperative:
Mi dica tutto.
Tell me everything.
Per piacere, gli dica che non ci sono.
Please, tell him I’m not here.
Si accomodi.
Take a seat.
Again, we place the indirect object pronoun before the formal imperative.
Practice with Quizlet
Here's a set of flashcards and quizzes to practice this grammar topic.Direct and indirect object pronouns with the formal imperative: examples
Here’s a summary of the combination of both direct and indirect object pronouns:
| lo | la | li | le | |
| mi | me lo | me la | me li | me le |
| gli/le | glielo | gliela | glieli | gliele |
| ci | ce lo | ce la | ce li | ce le |
| gli | glielo | gliela | glieli | gliele |
Let’s have a look at some examples:
Glielo dia subito.
Give it to him or her straight away.
Ce lo faccia sapere il prima possibile.
Let us know as soon as possible.
Per piacere, me la porti a casa.
Please, bring it to me at my house.
Needless to say, again, we place the combination of both pronouns before the formal imperative.
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