Italian verbs: Miscellaneous
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Imperative
The imperative mood is the mood of command in Italian. There is one tense form.
The imperative in Italian is limited to five personal forms in the affirmative, and five personal forms in the negative. The imperative lacks a "first person singular" form.
Second Person
The main parts of any imperative are the second person singular and plural.
Affirmative
- For the first conjugation in are, the affirmative second person singular is identical to the third person singular form of the present tense.
- For the second and third conjugations in ere/ire, the affirmative second person singular is identical to the second person singular form of the present tense.
- For all conjugations (are/ere/ire), the second person plural is identical to the second person plural form of the present tense.
| "to sing" (are) | "to see" (ére) | "to put" (ere) | "to finish" (ire w/ isc) | "to sleep" (ire w/o isc) | |
| 2sg tu
| canta!
| vedi!
| metti!
| finisci!
| dormi!
|
Negative
The negative imperative in the second person has the following quirk: the second person singular is the word non before the infinitive. The plural is non before the plural affirmative:
| "to sing" (are) | "to see" (ére) | "to put" (ere) | "to finish" (ire w/ isc) | "to sleep" (ire w/o isc) | |
| 2sg tu
| non cantare!
| non vedere!
| non mettere!
| non finire!
| non dormire!
|
Formal Imperative
The "formal" imperative, used to make more polite commands, in the singular is identical to the third person singular form of the present subjunctive:
| "to sing" (are) | "to see" (ére) | "to put" (ere) | "to finish" (ire w/ isc) | "to sleep" (ire w/o isc) | |
| 2sg.form Lei | canti! | veda! | metta! | finisca! | dorma! |
The plural form, which is not often used (it is considered too formal), is the third person plural of the present subjunctive:
| "to sing" (are) | "to see" (ére) | "to put" (ere) | "to finish" (ire w/ isc) | "to sleep" (ire w/o isc) | |
| 2pl.form Loro | cantino! | vedano! | mettano! | finiscano! | dormano! |
The negative of the polite forms adds non before the respective forms: (Lei) non canti!, (Loro) non cantino!
Other Persons
Even though there is no first person singular, there is a first person plural, as well as the third person (singular and plural).
These forms are identical to the corresponding forms of the present subjunctive
| "to sing" (are) | "to see" (ére) | "to put" (ere) | "to finish" (ire w/ isc) | "to sleep" (ire w/o isc) | |
| 3sg lei
| canti!
| veda!
| metta!
| finisca!
| dorma!
|
These forms translate as "Let him ..., let's ..., let them ...":
Cantiamo questa canzone! Let's sing this song!
Scrivino a loro genitori! Let them write to their parents!
Mangi tutti i maccheroni! Let him eat all the macaroni!
Negative
The negative is formed by adding non before the affirmative forms: non canti!, non vediamo!, non dormano!.
Non-Finite Forms
Participles
Participles in Italian are non-finite forms that are usually used with auxiliary verbs, and sometimes as nominal modifiers (i.e. adjectives). There are two types of participles: present and past.
Present Participle
The present participle ends in -ante for are verbs or -ente for ere/ire verbs, and is attached to the verb stem:
cantante (singing)
vedente (seeing)
mettente (setting)
finente (ending)
dormente (sleeping)
Present participle forms are not used with verb nowadays; they are mainly used as adjectives.
Past Participle
The past participle is slightly harder to form as, along with the preterite, this has the most irregular forms of any verb form.
Verbs in are and ire have the most number of regular forms. The basic ending is -ato or -ito:
<p>
cantato (sung)
finito (ended, finished)
dormito (slept)
Verbs in ere have the most number of irregular forms. However, there is a regular affix for verbs of this class, in -uto:
<p>
avuto (had) [avere]
saputo (known) [sapere]
tenuto (held) [tenere]
Many irregular forms have endings in -to, -so, or -sso:
<p>
nato (born) [nascere]
discusso (discussed) [discutere]
messo (set) [mettere]
preso (taken) [prendere]
chiuso (closed) [chiudere]
cotto (cooked) [cuocere]
scelto (chosen) [scegliere]
visto (seen) [vedere]
vissuto (lived) [vivere]
etc...
Many verbs with irregular forms are also irregular in other ways (see *Irregular Verbs).
Use of the Past Participle
The past participle is used mainly with auxiliary verbs in forming compound tenses:
<p>
è nato (he was born) [passato prossimo]
sono discusso [per] (I am discussed [by]) [passive]
ebbero messo (they had set) [trapassato remoto]
ho preso (I took) [passato prossimo]
si sarà chiuso (it will be closed) [reflexive future passive]
etc...
The past participle can also be used as an adjective:
<p>
bottiglia aperta (open bottle) [aprire]
libro trovato (found book) [trovare]
nemici conosciuti (known enemies) [conoscere]
The past participle can change forms according to gender and number, whether used with an auxiiary or as an adjective:
<p>
"sung"
cantato masc. sing.
cantata fem. sing.
cantati masc. sing.
cantate fem. sing.
<p>
"closed"
chiuso masc. sing.
chiusa fem. sing.
chiusi masc. sing.
chiuse fem. sing.
