Vim: Combining Movement and Editing Commands

Operators

Operators are commands that perform an action when combined with a motion or text object.

Operator	Action
d	Delete
c	Change (delete and enter insert mode)
y	Yank (copy)
>	Indent right
<	Indent left
g~	Swap case
gu	Make lowercase
gU	Make uppercase

Text Objects

Text objects are used with operators to act on structured pieces of text.

Object	Description
iw	Inner word
aw	A word (includes surrounding space)
is	Inner sentence
as	A sentence
ip	Inner paragraph
ap	A paragraph
i( or i)	Inside parentheses
a( or a)	A pair of parentheses
i{ or i}	Inside curly braces
a{ or a}	A pair of curly braces
i"	Inside double quotes
a"	A pair of double quotes
it	Inner XML/HTML tag
at	A XML/HTML tag block

Common Combinations

Command	Description
dw	Delete to the start of the next word
d$ or D	Delete to the end of the line
d0	Delete to the beginning of the line
diw	Delete inner word
ciw	Change inner word
ci"	Change text inside double quotes
da(	Delete a pair of parentheses and their content
yi{	Yank text inside curly braces
gUiw	Make inner word uppercase
><motion>	Indent right (e.g., >G to indent to end of file)
cit	Change inner XML/HTML tag

Tips

• Most commands follow the pattern: <operator><count><motion>
• You can use a count before the operator or the motion (e.g., 2dw or d2w)
• Operators can be doubled to operate on a whole line (e.g., dd, yy, cc)
• The v command enters visual mode, allowing you to select text before applying an operator