Commands from the Spanish in Texas Corpus
The imperative (imperativo) is used to give commands or orders.You may recognize the imperative from commands such as oyeor repite. It is one of threemoodsin the Spanish language. Unlike the other moods, the imperative is not divided into tenses. Keep in mind that the imperative is a very direct way to give an order. It is often replaced with more polite alternatives like theconditional.
Formation
There are four forms of the imperative:tú, usted, nosotros, and ustedes.Thenosotrosform is used to give an order that involves oneself as well as others, though it often expresses a suggestion as its translationlet’s... indicates.
Regular-arverbs:
| hablar to speak | |
|---|---|
| nosotros/ashablemos | |
| túhabla/ no hables | |
| ustedhable | ustedeshablen |
Regular-erand-irverbs:
| comer to eat | |
|---|---|
| nosotros/ascomamos | |
| túcome | |
| ustedcoma | ustedescoman |
Usted, nosotros, and ustedescommands
For the usted, nosotros, andustedesforms, the imperative is formed using the corresponding forms of thepresent subjunctive.
- yoform
- drop the o
- add the opposite vowel (with correctending for that person)
As seen in the example below,haganis an Ustedes command, from the verbhacer.Following the formula above we get: 1. hago 2. hag 3. hagan
Ve,hagan las oraciones.
Go, make the sentences.
Irregulars
Verbs that don’t end in -o in theiryo form present tense, like ser –> soy and ir –> voy are irregular in the present subjunctive.
- Ser: sea, seamos, sean
- Estar:esté, estemos, estén
- Ir: vaya, vayamos, vayan
- Saber: sepa, sepamos, sepan
- Dar:dé, demos, den
Tú commands
The tú form is a little more complicated, as its form depends on whether it is an affirmative command (telling someone to do something) or a negative command (telling someone not to do something).
- Affirmative tú commands: useél/ella/usted form of thepresent indicative.
- Negative tú command: usethe corresponding forms of thepresent subjunctive, like theusted,nosotros, andustedes.
Irregular Tú Affirmative Commands
There are several verbs that have irregular affirmativetú imperative forms. There are several mnemonicdevices to help you remember these, such as:Vin Diesel Has Ten Weapons –>Ven Di Sal Haz Ten Ve Pon Se
- Ser: sé
- Poner: pon
- Tener: ten
- Salir: sal
- Venir: ven
- Ir: ve
- Decir: di
- Hacer: haz
Irregular Tú Affirmative Commands
Negative Commands
Innegativecommands (an ordernotto do something), place thenegation no before the imperative. Moreover, negative imperatives are alwaysformed using the corresponding forms of thepresent subjunctive, even for the tú form, as inNo mires (Don’t look).
| hablar to speak | |
|---|---|
| nosotros/as nohablemos | |
| tú nohables | |
| él/ella/usted nohable | ellos/as/ustedes nohablen |
Imperative and Pronouns
Affirmatives
For affirmative imperatives the subject pronoun is often dropped and the object pronouns are placed after the verb and are attached to it. If there are 2 pronouns, their order will always be indirect object/reflexive first and then direct object pronouns.If the command is two syllables or more, then an accent mark is placed on the second to last syllable, not counting the pronouns.
- With indirect object pronouns:
Cuéntame de tus hijos.
Tell me about your children. - With reflexive pronouns:
Mmm… pues fíjate que se me hace muy bonito, muy bonito.
Mmm… well actually it is very nice, very nice to me. - With direct object pronouns:
Entonces, yo me quedé parada ahí no más, pidiéndole, yo decía: Diosito, cuídame, protégeme, que nadie me toque, cuídame.
So, I just stood there, asking Him, I said: dear God, take care of me, protect me, make that no one can touch me, take care of me. - With indirect object and direct object pronouns:
Arrímamelo,por favor.Bring me itplease.
Negatives
In negative commands, the object pronouns are placed in front of the verb and they are written as separate words.If there are 2 pronouns, their order will always be indirect object/reflexive first and then direct object pronouns.
- With indirect object pronouns:
Con tacto, con cierto… con cierta fineza, hay que tener cuidado como hay que hablarle, no le vayasa decir nada, simplemente, fíjate como está ella.
With tact, with a certain… with a certain politeness, you must be careful how you talk to her, do not go and tell her anything, just see how she is. - With reflexive pronouns:
No las apuntaba ni nada, y luego luego le decía al que se quedaba cuidando la cantina: no te vayas, espérate…
He did not take notes nor anything else, and right after he told the man that used to take care of the tavern: do not leave, wait… - With direct object pronouns:
Nolocomprespor favor.Do not buy it please.
- With indirect object and direct object pronouns:
Nomelocompres.Do not buy me that.
