Negative commands
Negative commands use no + present subjunctive for all persons, including tú and vosotros.
| affirmative | negative | |
|---|---|---|
| tú | habla, come | no hables, no comas |
| usted | hable, coma | no hable, no coma |
| vosotros | hablad, comed | no habléis, no comáis |
| ustedes | hablen, coman | no hablen, no coman |
| irregular | di, haz, ve, ten | no digas, no hagas, no vayas, no tengas |
Pronouns move
- Affirmative: pronouns attached: Dímelo. Siéntate.
- Negative: pronouns before the verb: No me lo digas. No te sientes.
Examples
- No te preocupes.Don’t worry.
- No toques eso, está caliente.Don’t touch that, it’s hot.
- Por favor, no hagan ruido.Please don’t make any noise.
- No se lo digas a nadie.Don’t tell anyone.
- No olvides las llaves.Don’t forget the keys.
Common mistakes
- ✗ No habla tan rápido.✓ No hables tan rápido.Negative commands use the subjunctive, not the present indicative. English “Don’t speak” is “do not” + verb, so there is no model.
- ✗ No haz ruido.✓ No hagas ruido.The affirmative command haz cannot be negated by adding no. English “Don’t” plus the same verb form makes this look natural.
- ✗ No di eso.✓ No digas eso.Negative commands use the subjunctive form digas, not the short affirmative di.
- ✗ No ven aquí.✓ No vengas aquí.Ven is only for affirmative commands. The negative uses the subjunctive vengas.
- ✗ No vas allí.✓ No vayas allí.No vas is a statement (“you’re not going”). The command needs the subjunctive vayas.