The Imperative in Spanish
El imperativo
Test yourself with a quick quizThe imperative gives orders, instructions and invitations. Spanish has a form for each way of saying 'you', and affirmative and negative commands use different forms.
Affirmative Commands
Tú uses the él/ella form of the present. Vosotros replaces the final -r of the infinitive with -d. Usted, nosotros and ustedes borrow the present subjunctive.
| Person | hablar | comer | escribir |
|---|---|---|---|
| tú | habla | come | escribe |
| usted | hable | coma | escriba |
| nosotros/as | hablemos | comamos | escribamos |
| vosotros/as | hablad | comed | escribid |
| ustedes | hablen | coman | escriban |
In Spain, vosotros is the informal plural and ustedes the formal one. In Latin America, ustedes covers both.
Negative Commands
All negative commands use no + the present subjunctive. Only tú and vosotros look different from the affirmative.
| Person | Affirmative | Negative |
|---|---|---|
| tú | come | no comas |
| usted | coma | no coma |
| nosotros/as | comamos | no comamos |
| vosotros/as | comed | no comáis |
| ustedes | coman | no coman |
Irregular Tú Forms
Eight common verbs have a short, irregular affirmative tú form. Their negatives are regular subjunctive forms. Stem changes also appear: cierra, duerme, pide.
| Infinitive | Affirmative tú | Negative tú |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
Test yourself
5 quick questions on this lesson. How many can you get right?
Choose the right answer.
Where the Pronouns Go
In affirmative commands, pronouns attach to the end of the verb, indirect before direct. Add an accent when needed to keep the original stress. In negative commands, pronouns go before the verb.
| Affirmative | Negative | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Dímelo. | No me lo digas. | Tell me. / Don't tell me. |
| Cómpralo. | No lo compres. | Buy it. / Don't buy it. |
| Siéntese. | No se siente. | Sit down. / Don't sit down. (usted) |
| Levantaos. | No os levantéis. | Get up. / Don't get up. (vosotros) |
| Vámonos. | No nos vayamos. | Let's go. / Let's not go. |
- Nosotros drops its final -s before nos: sentemos + nos gives sentémonos.
- Vosotros drops its final -d before os: sentad + os gives sentaos. The exception is idos.
- Se lo replaces le lo: dale el libro becomes dáselo.
Sounding Polite
In Spain the imperative is normal and not rude among friends, in shops and at home. Por favor softens it, and a question in the present or conditional sounds even gentler.
Common Mistakes
These errors are very frequent.
- Using the affirmative form after no: say no hables, not 'no habla'.
- Making irregular tú forms negative: say no digas, not 'no di'.
- Attaching pronouns in negatives: say no me lo digas, not 'no dímelo'.
- Forgetting the accent: cómelo and dámelo need one; dame does not.
- Using the infinitive for vosotros: say sentaos, not 'sentaros', in standard Spanish.
- Mixing tú and usted in one sentence: siéntese y espere, not 'siéntate y espere'.