Italian flag

Requests and instructions: recipient + 'di' + infinitive

When you ask someone to do something in English, you normally use a direct object followed by an infinitive: you say "I asked him to wait." In Italian, you must completely restructure this thought. For requests, permissions, and instructions, Italian requires an indirect object (the recipient) followed by the preposition di and an infinitive.

Because English speakers are so used to using a direct object for these instructions, they often pick the wrong Italian pronouns and the wrong prepositions. Learning how to properly link verbs like chiedere and dire to their targets is a major step toward sounding natural.

Word list
chiedereA1 to ask chiedere a qualcuno di fare qualcosa direA1 to say dire a qualcuno di fare qualcosa domandareA2 to ask domandare a qualcuno di fare qualcosa permettereA2 to let permettere a qualcuno di fare qualcosa chiedereB1 to ask for chiedere a qualcuno di fare qualcosa consigliareB1 to advise consigliare a qualcuno di fare qualcosa consigliareB1 to recommend consigliare a qualcuno di fare qualcosa impedireB1 to prevent impedire a qualcuno di fare qualcosa (gli ho impedito di uscire) proibireB1 to forbid proibire a qualcuno di fare qualcosa proporreB1 to suggest proporre a qualcuno di fare qualcosa raccomandareB1 to recommend raccomandare a qualcuno di fare qualcosa richiedereB1 to ask for richiedere a qualcuno di fare qualcosa ricordareB1 to remind ricordare a qualcuno di fare qualcosa suggerireB1 to suggest suggerire a qualcuno di fare qualcosa vietareB1 to forbid vietare a qualcuno di fare qualcosa ordinareB2 to command ordinare a qualcuno di fare qualcosa prescrivereC2 to prescribe prescrivere a qualcuno di fare qualcosa
The Basic Pattern

In English, we say "I told her to stay." We are grammatically acting directly on "her." In Italian, the logic is closer to "I said to her to stay." The person receiving the instruction is the indirect object, which means you must use the preposition a or an indirect object pronoun like gli (to him) or le (to her). The action itself is then introduced by di.

Le ho chiesto di aspettarmi.
(I asked her to wait for me.)
Digli di sedersi.
(Tell him to sit down.)
Abbiamo domandato al cameriere di portare il conto.
(We asked the waiter to bring the bill.)
Giving Advice and Reminders

Verbs for advising, reminding, and suggesting follow the exact same pattern. Words like consigliare, suggerire, proporre, raccomandare, and ricordare all take an indirect object for the person receiving the advice, followed by di and the infinitive.

Il medico gli ha consigliato di riposare.
(The doctor advised him to rest.)
Ti suggerisco di provare questa torta.
(I suggest you try this cake.)
Ricorda a Marco di telefonare a sua madre.
(Remind Marco to call his mother.)
Rules, Permissions, and Prohibitions

When someone in authority gives an order or sets a rule, the recipient remains an indirect object. This applies to verbs granting permission like permettere, issuing orders like ordinare and prescrivere, or setting bans like proibire, vietare, and impedire.

Non ci permettono di entrare.
(They do not allow us to enter.)
Il poliziotto ha ordinato all'uomo di uscire dalla macchina.
(The police officer ordered the man to exit the car.)
L'insegnante ha vietato agli studenti di usare i telefoni.
(The teacher forbade the students to use their phones.)
Watch Out: Direct vs. Indirect

Because English uses direct objects for both "I asked him" and "I convinced him," it is easy to assume Italian does the same. However, different Italian verbs call for different patterns. While a request takes an indirect object and di, verbs of persuasion take a direct object and a. Notice the difference in pronouns and prepositions below.

Gli ho chiesto di partire.
(I asked him to leave.)
L'ho convinto a partire.
(I convinced him to leave.)
Summary

Whenever you tell, ask, advise, allow, or order someone to do an action, remember the formula: the person is an indirect object (introduced by a or an indirect object pronoun), and the action is an infinitive introduced by di.