Telling someone to do something
Spanish uses a different form depending on who you are speaking to, and a different form again when the command is negative.
| Person | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | habla, come, escribe | no hables, no comas, no escribas |
| usted | hable, coma, escriba | no hable, no coma, no escriba |
| nosotros | hablemos, comamos | no hablemos, no comamos |
| vosotros (Spain) | hablad, comed, escribid | no habléis, no comáis, no escribáis |
| ustedes | hablen, coman, escriban | no hablen, no coman, no escriban |
The affirmative tú form is simply the él form of the present: él habla → ¡Habla! The vosotros form replaces the final -r of the infinitive with -d: comer → comed.
Everything else in the table comes from the present subjunctive, which is why the vowel flips: -ar verbs take e, and -er / -ir verbs take a.
Irregular tú commands
Eight verbs have a short affirmative tú form. Their negatives use the normal present subjunctive.
| Verb | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| decir | di | no digas |
| hacer | haz | no hagas |
| ir | ve | no vayas |
| poner | pon | no pongas |
| salir | sal | no salgas |
| ser | sé | no seas |
| tener | ten | no tengas |
| venir | ven | no vengas |
- Haz la cama, por favor. — Make the bed, please.
- No seas tan impaciente. — Don't be so impatient.
Pronouns
In an affirmative command the pronoun is attached to the verb, and a written accent usually appears to keep the original stress. In a negative command it goes before the verb.
| Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|
| Dímelo. — Tell me. | No me lo digas. |
| Siéntate. — Sit down. | No te sientes. |
| Cómpralo. — Buy it. | No lo compres. |
| Levántense. — Get up. (ustedes) | No se levanten. |
Reflexive vosotros commands drop the -d: sentar + os → sentaos, callar + os → callaos.
Softening a command
A bare imperative can sound abrupt. Spanish adds por favor, or avoids the imperative: ¿Puedes cerrar la ventana?, ¿Me pasas la sal?
Watch out as an English speaker
- The negative is not just "no" plus the command. English keeps "eat / don't eat"; Spanish changes the ending. ✗ No come el pastel. / ✓ No comas el pastel.
- Pronoun position flips with the negative. ✗ Te siéntate. / ✓ Siéntate. ✗ No siéntate. / ✓ No te sientes.
- "Let's" is one word. ✗ Dejemos comer (for "let's eat") / ✓ Comamos, or more commonly Vamos a comer.
- Don't add a subject pronoun. ✗ Tú habla más despacio. / ✓ Habla más despacio. A pronoun after the verb (habla tú) is only for contrast.
Example dialogue
Oye, ven un momento. — Hey, come here a second.
Voy. ¿Qué pasa? — Coming. What's up?
Ayúdame con esta caja, por favor. No la levantes sola. — Help me with this box, please. Don't lift it on your own.
Vale. Ponla aquí y dime si pesa mucho. — OK. Put it here and tell me if it's very heavy.
No te preocupes, es ligera. — Don't worry, it's light.