Imperative Mood (commands)

The imperative (imperativo) is used to give commands or orders. You may recognize the imperative from commands such as oye or repite. It is one of three moods in 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 the conditional.

Formation

There are four forms of the imperative: tú, usted, nosotros, and ustedes. The nosotros form is used to give an order that involves oneself as well as others, though it often expresses a suggestion as its translation let’s... indicates.

Regular -ar verbs:

hablar  to speak
	nosotros/as hablemos
tú habla/ no hables
usted hable	ustedes hablen

Regular -er and -ir verbs:

decir  to say
	nosotros/as digamos
tú digas
usted diga	ustedes digan

 

Usted, nosotros, and ustedes commands

For the usted, nosotros, and ustedes forms, the imperative is formed using the corresponding forms of the present subjunctive.

1. yo form
2. drop the o
3. add the opposite vowel (with correct ending for that person)

As seen in the example below, hagan is an Ustedes command, from the verb hacer. 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 their yo 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: use él/ella/usted form of the present indicative.
• Negative tú command: use the corresponding forms of the present subjunctive, like the usted, nosotros, and ustedes.

Irregular Tú Affirmative Commands

There are several verbs that have irregular affirmative tú imperative forms. There are several mnemonic devices 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

Entonces siempre le decía: tú ponte atrás, déjame caminar en frente que ya Alina…
So I always told him: stay back, let me go first that Alina already…

Irregular Tú Affirmative Commands

Negative Commands

In negative commands (an order not to do something), place the negation no before the imperative. Moreover, negative imperatives are always formed using the corresponding forms of the present subjunctive, even for the tú form, as in No mires (Don’t look).

hablar  to speak
	nosotros/as no hablemos
tú no hables
él/ella/usted no hable	ellos/as/ustedes no hablen

Y me dijo, nada más que yo le dije: no digas nada a mi mamá porque mi mamá después me va a pegar a mí.
And he told me, I just told him: do not tell anything to my mom because my mom then would beat me up.

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 it please.

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 vayas a 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:

No lo compres por favor.Do not buy it please.

• With indirect object and direct object pronouns: 

No me lo compres.Do not buy me that.