Need to tell your teacher, supervisor, or the Italian prime minister to do something? Use the subjunctive form of the verb to form the formal commands. The table below contains some examples of formal commands.
| FORMAL COMMANDS |
|---|
| INFINITIVE | LEI | LORO |
|---|
| cantare | Canti! | Cantino! |
| dormire | Dorma! | Dormano! |
| finire | Finisca! | Finiscano! |
| parlare | Parli! | Parlino! |
| partire | Parta! | Partano! |
| pulire | Pulisca! | Puliscano! |
| scrivere | Scriva! | Scrivano! |
| vendere | Venda! | Vendano! |
Some of the verbs have irregular stem changes in the io form. Sometimes, this form is used to construct the imperatives of Lei and Loro.
| FORMAL COMMANDS: VERBS WITH STEM CHANGES |
|---|
| INFINITIVE | PRESENT-INDICATIVE FORM OF IO | IMPERATIVE FORM OF LEI | IMPERATIVE FORM OF LORO |
|---|
| andare (to walk) | vado | Vada! | Vadano! |
| apparire (to appear) | appaio | Appaia! | Appaiano! |
| bere (to drink) | bevo | Beva! | Bevano! |
| cogliere (to pick, to pluck) | colgo | Colga! | Colgano! |
| dire (to say, to tell) | dico | Dica! | Dicano! |
| fare (to make) | faccio | Faccia! | Facciano! |
| porre (to place, to put down) | pongo | Ponga! | Pongano! |
| rimanere (to stay, to remain) | rimango | Rimanga! | Rimangano! |
| salire (to climb) | salgo | Salga! | Salgano! |
| scegliere (to choose, to pick) | scelgo | Scelga! | Scelgano! |
| sedere (to sit down) | siedo | Sieda! | Siedano! |
| suonare (to play a musical instrument) | suono | Suoni! | Suonino! |
| tradurre (to translate) | traduco | Traduca! | Traducano! |
| trarre (to draw, to pull) | traggo | Tragga! | Traggano! |
| udire (to listen) | odo | Oda! | Odano! |
| uscire (to exit) | esco | Esca! | Escano! |
| venire (to come) | vengo | Venga! | Vengano! |
Finally, some verbs have irregular formal command forms that are not based on any present-indicative forms, and which you will have to memorize. These verbs are listed below.
| FORMAL COMMANDS: IRREGULAR VERBS |
|---|
| INFINITIVE | LEI | LORO |
|---|
| avere | Abbia! | Abbiano! |
| dare | Dia! | Diano! |
| essere | Sia! | Siano! |
| sapere | Sappia! | Sappiano! |
| stare | Stia! | Stiano |
POSITION OF PRONOUNS WITH FORMAL COMMAND
UNLIKE THE INFORMAL COMMANDS, with the"Lei" & "Loro" forms the direct of indirect object pronouns precede the command
Apra la porta! = La apra!
Compri il giornale! = Lo compri!
Aspetti me! = Mi aspetti
Note that the same form of the verb is used for the negative formal commands.
