Direct Commands in Spanish The Imperative Mood

The imperative form of verbs, used for giving commands, is one of the more unusual in Spanish. As a distinctive conjugation, it exists only with tà º and vosotros, in the familiar second person. Different conjugations are sometimes used in the affirmative (do something) and negative (dont). Because direct commands sometimes can sound rude or impolite, native speakers often avoid the imperative in favor of other verb constructions. Easy to Learn The imperative form of verbs is fairly easy to learn. For regular verbs, the familiar affirmative imperative (the one that goes with tà º and vosotros) is formed by dropping the final letter (the r) of the infinitive, except for verbs ending in -ir, in which case, the ending is changed to -e. In the plural, the final letter of the infinitive is changed to a d. For formal and negative commands, the subjunctive conjugation is used. The imperative form is equivalent to the use of the unconjugated verb in English without a subject. For example, if youre telling someone in English to look, the command is look. The Spanish equivalent can be mira, mire, mirad or miren, depending on whom you are speaking to. Direct Commands for -ar  Verbs Using hablar (to speak) as an example, the conjugations include: Singular familiar: habla tà º, no hables tà º speak, dont speakSingular formal: hable Ud., no hable Ud. speak, dont speakPlural familiar: hablad vosotros, no hablà ©is vosotros speak, dont speakPlural formal: hablen Uds., no hablen Uds. speak, dont speak Use the imperative form only for the familiar affirmative commands. In other cases, use the present subjunctive conjugation. The same is true for -er and -ir verbs. Direct Commands for -er Verbs Using comer (to eat) as an example, the conjugations include: Singular familiar: come tà º, no comas tà º eat, dont eatSingular formal: coma Ud., no coma Ud. eat, dont eatPlural familiar: comed vosotros, no comà ¡is vosotros eat, dont eatPlural formal: coman Uds., no coman Uds. eat, dont eat Direct Commands for -ir Verbs Using escribir (to write) as an example, the conjugations include: Singular familiar: escribe  tà º, no escribas tà º write, dont writeSingular formal: escriba Ud., no escriba Ud. write, dont writePlural familiar: escribid vosotros, no escribà ¡is vosotros write, dont writePlural formal: escriban Uds., no escriban Uds. write, dont write The pronouns are included in the above charts for clarity. The familiar pronouns (tà º and vosotros) are usually omitted in actual use unless needed for clarity or emphasis, while the formal pronouns (usted and ustedes) are more often used. Tips for Using the Imperative Mood Use of the imperative is fairly straightforward, but learning a few guidelines will help you to use it correctly. The singular affirmative familiar imperative (used with tà º) is usually regular. The irregular verbs are these eight, along with verbs derived from them: Decir, di to sayHacer, haz to make or doIr, ve to goPoner, pon to putSalir, sal to leaveSer, sà © to beTener, ten to haveVenir, ven to come All verbs are regular in the plural affirmative familiar imperative. The vosotros commands are rarely used in Latin America. Normally, the ustedes form is used when speaking even with children or relatives. Object pronouns and reflexive pronouns are attached to the affirmative commands and precede negative commands, for example: Dime. Tell me.No me digas. Dont tell me.Escrà ­beme. Write to me.No me escribas. Dont write to me. When a pronoun is attached, add an accent to the verb to maintain the correct pronunciation. If there is a direct and indirect object, the indirect object comes first, as in: Dà ©melo. Give it to me.No me lo dà ©. Dont give it to me. In written instructions, use either the familiar or formal forms, depending on the tone you want to convey as well as your audience. The familiar form generally comes across as friendlier, as in: Haz clic aquà ­. Click here.Haga clic aquà ­. Click here. You can also use the impersonal command. Some writers put commands between exclamation points to help indicate that they are commands. When you use it this way, the exclamation marks dont necessarily translate to written English, as in,  ¡Escucha! (Listen.)