Imperative: affirmative commands
The imperative gives instructions, advice and invitations. The tú form usually looks like the él / ella present form.
| hablar | comer | escribir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| tú | habla | come | escribe |
| usted | hable | coma | escriba |
| vosotros | hablad | comed | escribid |
| ustedes | hablen | coman | escriban |
Irregular tú forms
di (decir), haz (hacer), ve (ir), pon (poner), sal (salir), sé (ser), ten (tener), ven (venir).
Notes
- usted / ustedes use the vowel of the opposite group: -ar → -e, -er/-ir → -a. Irregular stems follow the yo form: tengo → tenga, hago → haga.
- Pronouns attach to the end, often with an accent: Dímelo. Siéntese. Cómpralo.
- Negative commands use different forms (the subjunctive): No hables. See the negative imperative rule.
Examples
- Abre la ventana, por favor.Open the window, please.
- Ven aquí un momento.Come here for a moment.
- Pase usted, por favor.Come in, please.
- Dime la verdad.Tell me the truth.
- Come despacio y bebe más agua.Eat slowly and drink more water.
Common mistakes
- ✗ Tú habla más despacio, por favor.✓ Habla más despacio, por favor.The tú command is already a verb form, so tú is dropped unless you want to stress it. English “you speak slower” is not a command.
- ✗ Hace la tarea ahora.✓ Haz la tarea ahora.Hacer has an irregular tú command, haz. The él form hace is the present tense, not the instruction English speakers meant.
- ✗ Viene aquí, por favor.✓ Ven aquí, por favor.Venir has the irregular command ven. The English bare verb “come” has no ending, so learners reach for the present tense.
- ✗ Dice la verdad.✓ Di la verdad.Decir has the short irregular command di. The present dice means “he says”, so it sounds like a statement.
- ✗ Sale de aquí ahora.✓ Sal de aquí ahora.Salir has the short command sal, the same type as haz, di and pon. Sale reads as “he leaves”.