The imperative with pronouns

Imperative + pronouns: the basic idea

• In Italian, object pronouns attach to the imperative and form one word.
• This happens with tu, noi and voi forms.

Compare:

• Prendi il quaderno. → Prendilo! = Take it!
• Portate i documenti. → Portateli! = Bring them!
• Spiega a me. → Spiegami! = Explain to me!
• Apriamo a Luca la porta. → Apriamogli la porta. / Apriamogli! (context) = Let’s open the door for him.

Think: imperative first, pronoun glued after it.

Step 1 – Which pronoun do I need?

Before you attach the pronoun, decide: is it direct or indirect?

• If your English sentence has “it / them” without to/for → usually a direct object pronoun.
• If your English sentence has “to him / to her / to me / to us” → an indirect pronoun.

Once you know the pronoun, you can glue it to the imperative.

Step 2 – Word order in the affirmative

For positive commands the pattern is:

imperative form + pronoun = one word

• Tu: porta + li → portali
• Noi: apriamo + gli → apriamogli
• Voi: spiegate + mi → spiegatemi

Check yourself:

1. Form the imperative (tu / noi / voi).
2. Choose the correct direct or indirect pronoun.
3. Attach it to the end, without a space.

Good vs wrong:

• Portali alla riunione. ✔
• Porta li alla riunione. ✘ (space is wrong)

Step 3 – Word order in the negative

This is the part most students get wrong.

With a negative command, the pattern in this unit is:

non + pronoun + infinitive / imperative form

• Non le scrivere. = Don’t write to her.
• Non le scrivete. = You all, don’t write to her.
• Non mi aspettare. = Don’t wait for me.

Notice:

• “non” comes first.
• The pronoun comes before the verb.
• There is no glueing to the end in this pattern.

Compare:

• Affirmative: Scrivile. = Write to her.
• Negative: Non le scrivere. = Don’t write to her.

Typical mistakes:

• Non scriverle. → in this course, prefer Non le scrivere.
• Non scrivile. → wrong order of pronoun and verb.

Step 4 – Double pronouns (it + to him, etc.)

Sometimes you have direct + indirect together: “give it to him”, “send it to us”.

In Italian the usual order (A2 level) is:

indirect pronoun + direct pronoun

In your book you mostly see ready-made models like:

• Mandagliela, per favore. = Send it to him, please. (presentation → la)
• Scrivetecela. = Write it to us. (the email → la)
• Non prepararglielo adesso. = Don’t prepare it for him now.
• Non dateglielo. = Don’t give it to them.

For A2 it is enough to:

• Recognise that in one word you can have both “to him/her/us” and “it/them”.
• Use the model sentences from the unit as patterns.

Quick visual checklist: is my sentence correct?

1. Is it a command?
   • Yes → go on.
2. Affirmative or negative?
   • Affirmative: porta, apriamo, portate…
   • Negative: non + verb…
3. Choose the pronoun(s).
   • Who / what? → lo, la, li, le.
   • To whom? → mi, ti, gli, le, ci, vi.
4. Place the pronoun correctly.
   • Affirmative: imperative + pronoun attached → Portali!
   • Negative: non + pronoun + verb → Non li portare.
5. Check gender/number.
   • documenti → li.
   • presentazione → la.
   • email (often fem. sing.) → la.

Typical problems and how to avoid them

• 1. Leaving a space
  • Porta li → Portali.
  • Apriamo gli → Apriamogli.
• 2. Using the wrong pronoun
  • documenti → li, not le.
  • porta (feminine, sing.) → la, not lo.
• 3. Keeping the preposition “a” + pronoun
  • Spiega a mi → Spiegami.
  • Apriamo a lui → Apriamogli.
• 4. Wrong order in the negative
  • Non scriverle (in this unit) → Non le scrivere.
  • Non scrivile → two problems: missing correct order and stress.

Mini self‑test

Cover the answers and try to form the Italian command. Then check.

1. “Bring them to the meeting.” (documents)

   Answer: Portali alla riunione.

2. “Explain it to me tomorrow.” (the project)

   Answer: Spiegamelo domani.

3. “Don’t write to her without permission.”

   Answer: Non le scrivere senza autorizzazione.

4. “Let’s open the door for him.”

   Answer: Apriamogli la porta.

5. “Don’t give it to them.” (the number)

   Answer: Non dateglielo.

If you can explain why each pronoun is there and where it stands, you have understood the topic well enough for conversation practice.