imperatives

Have you ever had to give instructions in English to someone who is lost in your town/city?
Hai mai dovuto dare indicazioni stradali in inglese a qualcuno che si è perso nel tuo paese / nella tua città?

We use the IMPERATIVE when giving INSTRUCTIONS or ORDERS.

There is just one imperative form for both "you" singular and plural and it is used when being polite or not so polite.

We use the base form of the form, i.e. the infinitive without "to", to form the imperative in English.

So, if a lost person asks you for instructions to get to a specific place you could reply, for example,
Perciò, se qualcuno ti chiede istruzioni per andare da qualche parte, potresti rispondere ad esempio:

Go straight on and turn left after about 100 metres.
Prosegui tutto dritto e dopo circa 100 metri gira a sinistra. Remember to turn left. Don't turn right by mistake!
Ricorda: gira a sinistra. Non girare a destra!

Here, "go" and "turn" are imperatives.

We use "do not", or its contracted form "don't", followed by the base form of the verb, to tell someone or some people not to do something, for example, you could tell the lost person:

"Remember" and "Don't turn" are both imperatives.

As Bobby McFerrin used to say, "Don't worry, be happy"!
Come dice Bobby McFerrin: "Non ti preoccupare, sii felice!"