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SpnVerbImperative
Commands rules and endings
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Commands are used when ordering, or telling someone to do something. This is often referred to as the "imperative" form of the verb. | Compre Ud. el anillo. (You) Buy the ring. Haga Ud. la tarea. (You) Do the homework. Compren Uds. los libros. (You-all) Buy the books. Hagan Uds. el trabajo. (You-all) Do the work. |
| Formal v informal | Compre Ud. el anillo. Buy the ring. (formal) Compra (tú) los dulces. Buy the candy. (familiar) |
| The formal commands are formed the same way as the present subjunctive: | Yo form drops ‘o’ and adds: -ar verbs: -e (for Ud.), -en (for Uds.) -er and -ir verbs: -a (for Ud.), -an (for Uds.) |
| The following examples of formal commands use three regular verbs: hablar, comer, and escribir. | Hable Ud. más lentamente. Hablen Uds. más lentamente. Speak more slowly. Coma Ud. la cena. Coman Uds. la cena. Eat the dinner. Escriba Ud. la carta. Escriban Uds. la carta. Write the letter. |
| Remember, if the first person singular (yo) form is irregular, that irregularity is carried over into the formation of the formal command. | Tengan Uds. un buen viaje. (yo tengo) Have a good trip. Traiga Ud. el dinero. (yo traigo) Bring the money. Venga Ud. conmigo. (yo vengo) Come with me. |
| This also applies to stem-changing verbs. | Cuente Ud. sus beneficios. (yo cuento) Count your blessings. Vuelvan Uds. pronto. (yo vuelvo) Return quickly. Pida dinero. (yo pido) Ask for money. |
| As with the present subjunctive, the following verbs are irregular: Dar | dé Ud. den Uds. |
| estar | esté Ud. estén Uds. |
| ir | vaya Ud. vayan Uds. |
| ser | sea Ud. sean Uds. |
| saber | sepa Ud. sepan Uds. |
| Note that affirmative and negative commands use the same verb forms. Speak. | Hable Ud. |
| Don't speak. | No hable Ud. |
| Eat. | Coma Ud. |
| Don't eat. | No coma Ud. |
| Write. | Escriba Ud. |
| Don't write. | No escriba Ud |
| Also note that the subject pronouns Ud. and Uds. may or may not be used. Using them adds a degree of formality or politeness to the command. | Hable. Speak. Hable Ud. Speak (sir). (more respectful) Coma. Eat. Coma Ud. Eat (sir). (more polite) |
| Formal Commands (Imperative) | Use the present subjunctive forms |
| Speak | Hable Ud. |
| Don’t speak. | No hable Ud. |
| Eat | Coma Ud. |
| Don’t eat. | No coma Ud. |
| Write | Escriba Ud. |
| Don’t write. | No escriba Ud. |
| Irregular Formal Commands (Imperative) Same irregulars as the present subjunctive forms: Dar | dé Ud. den Uds. |
| Estar | esté Ud. estén Uds. |
| Ir | vaya Ud. vayan Uds. |
| Ser | sea Ud. sean Uds. |
| Saber | sepa Ud. sepan Uds. |
| Informal Commands ("tú") | . The affirmative informal (tú) commands are formed the same way as the present indicative Ud. form: (hablar - ar + a |
| Be sure to note that the "tú" commands use the usted form, not the tú form! The following examples of commands use three regular verbs: hablar, comer, and escribir. | Habla (tú) más lentamente. (You) Speak more slowly. Come (tú) la cena. (You) Eat the dinner. Escribe (tú) la carta. (You) Write the letter. |
| Note that the negative informal commands use the tú form of the present subjunctive. | No cuentes tus beneficios. Don't count your blessings. No hables más lentamente. Don't speak more slowly. Be sure to note that this is the tú form! |
| Compare the affirmative informal (tú) commands with the negative informal (tú) commands: | Cuenta tus beneficios. Count your blessings. No cuentes tus beneficios. Don't count your blessings. Habla más lentamente. Speak more slowly. No hables más lentamente. Don't speak more slowly. |
| Also note that the subject pronoun tú is not normally used with imperative form. | Habla más lentamente. (You) Speak more slowly. Come la cena. (You) Eat the dinner. Escribe la carta. (You) Write the letter. |
| Informal (tú) Commands (Imperative) Affirmative: Use the present indicative Ud. form Negative: Use the present subjunctive tú form | Habla. Speak. No hables. Don't speak. Come. Eat. No comas. Don't eat. Escribe. Write. No escribas. Don't write. |
| The following eight verbs have irregular familiar commands in the affirmative: | decir – di salir – sal hacer – haz ser – sé ir – ve tener – ten poner – pon venir – ven |
| Note that these irregularities only occur with affirmative tú commands. As with all other verbs, to form negative informal commands with these verbs, use the "tú" form of the present subjunctive. | Di la verdad. (Tell the truth.) No digas mentiras. (Don't tell lies.) Haz tu tarea. (Do your homework.) No hagas eso. (Don't do that.) |
| Irregular Informal (tú) Commands (Imperative) (Affirmative Only) | decir – di salir - sal hacer - haz ser - sé ir – ve tener - ten poner - pon venir - ven |
| With all affirmative commands, the object pronouns are attached directly to the end of the imperative form of the verb. | Compre Ud. el anillo. Buy the ring. Cómprelo Ud. Buy it. Traiga Ud. las cartas. Bring the letters. Tráigalas Ud. Bring them. |
| If both direct and indirect object pronouns are attached, the indirect object pronoun comes before the direct object pronoun. | Cómprelo Ud. Buy it. Cómpremelo Ud. Buy it for me. Tráigalas Ud. Bring them. Tráigaselas Ud. Bring them to her. |
| Note that in order to maintain the original stress of the verb, a written accent is often needed. If the command has more than one syllable, a written accent is required when one or more pronoun is added. | Command: compre (two syllables) cómprelos cómpremelos |
| If the command has only one syllable, a written accent is only necessary when two pronouns are added. | Command: haz (one syllable) hazlo (one pronoun, no accent required) házmelo (two pronouns, accent is required) |
| These rules for accentuation apply to all affirmative imperative forms. | Hágamelo Ud. Házmelo. Hágalo Ud. Hazlo. |
| With all negative commands, the object pronouns come before the imperative form of the verb. | No compre Ud. el anillo. Don't buy the ring. No lo compre. Don't buy it. No traiga Ud. las cartas. Don't bring the letters. No las traiga. Don't bring them. |
| If there are both direct and indirect object pronouns, the indirect object pronoun comes before the direct object pronoun. | No me lo compre. Don't buy it for me. No se las traiga. Don't bring them to her. |
| Remember the rule regarding two object pronouns: whenever both pronouns begin with the letter "l" change the first pronoun to "se." | le lo |
| Pronoun placement with commands | Affirmative commands: attach to verb Negative commands: precede verb Tráigaselas. No se las traiga. |
| Nosotros commands are used when the speaker is included, and are used to express the idea "let's + verb." To form these commands, use the nosotros form of the present subjunctive. | Comamos allí. Let's eat there. Contemos el dinero. Let's count the money. |
| To form the negative command, place the word no before the same verb form (present subjunctive). | No comamos allí. Let's not eat there. No contemos el dinero. Let's not count the money. |
| The only exception is the verb ir(se), which uses the present indicative for the affirmative command only. | Vamos ahora. Let's go now. but No vayamos a la tienda. Let's not go to the store. |
| As with other commands, a written accent is often required when pronouns are added. With affirmative commands, the final "s" of the verb form is dropped before adding the pronouns "nos" or "se." | Sentemos + nos Sentémonos. Let's sit down. Escribamos + se + la Escribámosela. Let's write it to them. |
| But not with negative commands. | No nos sentemos. Let's not sit down. No se la escribamos. Let's not write it to them. |
| Note that "Vamos a + infinitive" can also be used to convey the meaning "Let's ___." Note the two different ways of saying the same thing. | Trabajemos juntos. Let's work together. Vamos a trabajar juntos. Let's work together. |
| Nosotros commands (let's ...). | Use present subjunctive (except ir) Comamos allí. No comamos allí. Vamos ahora. No vayamos ahora. |
| When the command is given through a third party, indirect commands are used. The form is "que + present subjunctive." | Que entre María. Let María come in. Que vengan a las cuatro. Have them come at four o'clock. |
| Indirect commands are also used to convey a hope or a wish. | Que lo hagas tú. (I want) You (to) do it. Que vivas para siempre. May you live forever. |
| The following examples include pronouns and negative commands. | Que ellos entren ahora. Let them in now. Que no entren ellos ahora. Don't let them in now. Que se ponga Sara el vestido negro. Have Sara put on the black dress. Que no se ponga Sara el vestido blanco. Don't have Sara put on the white dress. |
| Indirect commands Use | "que + present subjunctive" Que entre María. Let María come in. Que vengan a las cuatro. Have them come at four o'clock. |
Created by:
huelsejc
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