Contents · A1
Tap a sentence to see its translation.
The modal verbs volere (“to want”), potere (“can, to be able to”) and dovere (“must, to have to”), which Italian grammars also call verbi servili, are followed directly by an infinitive, with no preposition. Vorrei, the conditional of volere, is used to ask politely. The imperative expresses an order, an instruction or a piece of advice; it has two forms of its own, with tu and with voi.
Want, can, must: vorrei and the modal verbs#
Formation
Volere, potere and dovere are conjugated in the present and followed by an infinitive: vogliamo partire, puoi aiutare?, devo studiare. Volere may also be followed by a noun: voglio un gelato. In the negative, non is placed before the modal verb: non posso venire. Vorrei (“I would like”) is the conditional of volere; it is learnt first as a set phrase, in the first person singular, followed by a noun or an infinitive. Their forms in the present are given in “The present indicative”.
Use
Volere expresses will, potere possibility or permission, dovere obligation or necessity. Vorrei softens a request: in a bar, in a shop, with someone one does not know, vorrei is the usual word. Voglio expresses a firm will: in a request it sounds abrupt, like “I want” in English. To offer something to a friend, the present is the usual form: Vuoi un caffè? The conditional with tu, vorresti, is more polite and just as correct.
- Vorrei un bicchiere d'acqua, per favore.I’d like a glass of water, please.
- Vorrei mangiare un panino, per favore.I’d like to have a sandwich, please.
- Posso guardare la televisione?Can I watch television?
- Domani dobbiamo partire presto.We have to leave early tomorrow.
- I bambini vogliono giocare in giardino.The children want to play in the garden.
- Vuoi un gelato al cioccolato?Would you like a chocolate ice cream?
Difference from English
English “want to”, “have to” and “be able to” are followed by “to”; the Italian modal verbs are followed by the bare infinitive, as English can and must are: “I have to work” is devo lavorare. One Italian verb covers several English ones: potere is “can”, “may” and “be able to”, and dovere is “must” and “have to”. Unlike English can and must, the Italian modals have a full set of endings: posso, puoi, può, possiamo… The noi forms are not formed on the infinitive: “we want” is vogliamo, “we can” possiamo, “we must” dobbiamo, with two b’s.
Common mistakes
Voglio a partire.→ Voglio partire.The modal verb is followed directly by the infinitive; there is no word for English “to”.Doviamo comprare il pane.→ Dobbiamo comprare il pane.The noi form of dovere is dobbiamo.Voglio un tè, per favore.→ Vorrei un tè, per favore.Voglio is correct but abrupt in a request; the polite form is vorrei.
Practise
Create an account: you will go straight to these exercises.
The imperative: guarda, prendi, non guardare#
Formation
With tu, the imperative of verbs in -are ends in -a: guarda, ascolta, aspetta, mangia. The imperative of verbs in -ere and -ire has the form of the present: prendi, scrivi, senti, apri, finisci, vieni. With voi, the imperative has the form of the present for every verb: guardate, prendete, sentite, venite. The subject pronoun is not expressed.
| -are: guardare | -ere: prendere | -ire: sentire | |
|---|---|---|---|
| tu | guarda | prendi | senti |
| voi | guardate | prendete | sentite |
| tu, negative | non guardare | non prendere | non sentire |
| voi, negative | non guardate | non prendete | non sentite |
The negative imperative. With tu, the negative imperative is formed with non followed by the infinitive: non guardare, non chiudere, non aprire. With voi, it is formed with non and the form of the affirmative imperative: non guardate, non uscite. On signs and in written instructions, non followed by the infinitive is addressed to everyone: Non fumare.
Irregular forms with tu. Andare, fare, dare and stare have two forms with tu: the form of the present (vai, fai, dai, stai) or a short form with an apostrophe (va', fa', da', sta'). Both are correct, and the long forms are very common in speech. Dire has a short form, di' (also written dì), not dici; the apostrophe distinguishes di' from the preposition di. With voi, these verbs are regular: andate, fate, date, state, dite. In the negative, the general rule applies: non andare, non fare, non dire.
| Infinitive | tu | voi | tu, negative |
|---|---|---|---|
| andare | vai, va' | andate | non andare |
| fare | fai, fa' | fate | non fare |
| dare | dai, da' | date | non dare |
| stare | stai, sta' | state | non stare |
| dire | di' | dite | non dire |
Use
The imperative is used for an order, an instruction, a request or a piece of advice addressed to a person one calls tu or to several people (voi). Per favore makes the request more polite: Chiudi la porta, per favore.
- Aspetta un minuto!Wait a minute!
- Prendi il cappotto, fa freddo.Take your coat, it’s cold.
- Ragazzi, aprite il quaderno e scrivete.Open your exercise books and write, everyone.
- Non correre, Marco!Don’t run, Marco!
- Non fumate qui, per favore!Please don’t smoke here!
- Di' qualcosa, Paolo!Say something, Paolo!
- Vai a dormire, è tardi.Go to bed, it’s late.
Difference from English
English has one imperative form, the bare verb, for one person or several, and forms the negative with don’t. Italian has a form for tu and a form for voi, and no auxiliary for the negative: “Don’t look!” is Non guardare! to one friend and Non guardate! to several. The tu forms seem to swap endings with the present: the imperative of a verb in -are ends in -a (guarda, “look”), while its present ends in -i (guardi, “you look”); the imperative of a verb in -ere or -ire ends in -i (prendi), like its present. Italian has no word for “do” in “Do sit down”: the imperative is softened with per favore or by the tone of voice.
Common mistakes
Aspetti qui, Luca!→ Aspetta qui, Luca!With tu, the imperative of verbs in -are ends in -a; aspetti is the present.Non guarda la televisione!→ Non guardare la televisione!With tu, the negative imperative is formed with non and the infinitive.Non mangiare, ragazzi!→ Non mangiate, ragazzi!With voi, the negative imperative is formed with non and the voi form.Dici ciao a Luca!→ Di' ciao a Luca!The tu imperative of dire is di'.
In short
| Point | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| volere, potere, dovere | + infinitive, no preposition | Posso entrare? |
| polite request | vorrei + noun or infinitive | Vorrei un caffè. |
| imperative with tu | -a (-are); present form (-ere, -ire) | guarda, prendi, senti |
| imperative with voi | present form | guardate, prendete |
| negative with tu | non + infinitive | non guardare |
| negative with voi | non + voi form | non guardate |
| irregular forms | vai / va', fai / fa', dai / da', stai / sta', di' | Di' qualcosa! |
Practise
Create an account: you will go straight to these exercises.