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Italian grammar

Tu commands (regular)

Give simple instructions with regular tu commands.

From the scene Taglia il pane (Cut the bread)

In short

Telling a friend what to do: -are verbs end in -a (taglia), -ere / -ire verbs in -i (apri).

  • cut! taglia
  • look! guarda
  • mix! mescola
  • open! apri
  • add! aggiungi

Your turn

Which one goes with look!?

Options: mescola · guarda · taglia

Show answer

look! → guarda

How it works

To tell a friend what to do (tu): -are verbs end in -a (taglia, guarda, mescola); -ere and -ire verbs end in -i (apri, aggiungi, metti).

cut! taglia

Nuria

Dice: taglia il pane, per favore.

She says: cut the bread, please.

Your turn

What fills the gap?

Dice: (blank) il pane, per favore.

Options: taglia · guarda · mescola

Show answer

Nuria

Dice: taglia il pane, per favore.

She says: cut the bread, please.

look! guarda

Nuria

Guarda la tele.

She's watching TV.

Your turn

What fills the gap?

(blank) la tele.

Options: Mescola · Guarda · Taglia

Show answer

Nuria

Guarda la tele.

She's watching TV.

mix! mescola

Nuria

Sì. E mescola bene il ripieno.

Yes. And mix the filling well.

Your turn

What fills the gap?

Sì. E (blank) bene il ripieno.

Options: taglia · guarda · mescola

Show answer

Nuria

Sì. E mescola bene il ripieno.

Yes. And mix the filling well.

open! apri

Nuria

Adesso, apri quella lattina.

Now, open that tin.

Your turn

What fills the gap?

Adesso, (blank) quella lattina.

Options: taglia · guarda · apri

Show answer

Nuria

Adesso, apri quella lattina.

Now, open that tin.

add! aggiungi

Nuria

Sì. E aggiungi il sale, per favore.

Yes. And add salt, please.

Your turn

What fills the gap?

Sì. E (blank) il sale, per favore.

Options: taglia · guarda · aggiungi

Show answer

Nuria

Sì. E aggiungi il sale, per favore.

Yes. And add salt, please.

Watch out

It's guarda, not "guardi": guardi is the formal Lei command.

Common mistake

Not tagli or tagliare here. Command to Javi (tu).

Dice: taglia il pane, per favore.

She says: cut the bread, please.

Practise it in the story

Meet this rule inside a short animated scene. Answer as it plays, then say the lines yourself.

Practise free in the app
See all forms
Tu commands (regular)
cut!taglia
look!guarda
mix!mescola
open!apri
add!aggiungi
More lines from the story
  • NuriaNon così. Guarda, così.Not like that. Look, like this.

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