Introduction
The Spanish imperative mood is the go-to form for commands, requests, advice, and instructions. Learning how to use the imperative correctly makes your Spanish sound natural and confident. This article breaks down the forms, pronouns, irregulars, and polite options so you can give directions, offer advice, and ask for favors with ease.
- What is the imperative mood?
- Forming affirmative commands
- Forming negative commands
- Pronouns with commands
- Irregular imperative forms
- Polite and indirect commands
- Using the imperative for advice and suggestions
- Affirmative nosotros commands with pronouns: special case
- Common pitfalls and tips
- Practical examples by situation
- Regional variations and usage notes
- Quick reference chart (regular verbs)
- Conclusion
What is the imperative mood?
The imperative mood is used to tell someone to do something, to advise them, or to instruct them. In Spanish, the imperative appears in several forms depending on who you are addressing and whether you want to be informal, formal, or include others. The most common targets are tú, usted, vosotros, nosotros, and ustedes.
Overview of the imperative forms
Spanish has two main styles for informal plural commands: the vosotros form used mainly in Spain, and ustedes used throughout Latin America. Use tú for informal singular, usted for formal singular, vosotros for informal plural in Spain, nosotros for let’s do something together, and ustedes for plural formal or plural in Latin America.
Forming affirmative commands
Affirmative commands tell someone to do something. The formation differs by person.
Informal singular: tú
For regular verbs, the affirmative tú command is usually the same as the third person singular of the present indicative. For -ar verbs, use the third person singular ending -a; for -er and -ir verbs, use -e.
Examples:
hablar → habla
comer → come
vivir → vive
Formal singular: usted
The affirmative usted command uses the third person present subjunctive form. For regular verbs, change the endings: -ar verbs take -e, -er/-ir verbs take -a.
Examples:
hablar → hable
comer → coma
vivir → viva
Informal plural: vosotros (Spain)
Affirmative vosotros commands are formed by replacing the -r of the infinitive with -d. This applies to regular verbs.
Examples:
hablar → hablad
comer → comed
vivir → vivid
Plural formal and Latin America: ustedes
The affirmative ustedes command uses the third person plural present subjunctive form. For regular verbs: -ar verbs take -en, -er/-ir verbs take -an.
Examples:
hablar → hablen
comer → coman
vivir → vivan
First person plural: nosotros
The nosotros command expresses let’s do something together and uses the present subjunctive first person plural. For regular verbs, -ar verbs end in -emos and -er/-ir verbs end in -amos.
Examples:
hablar → hablemos
comer → comamos
vivir → vivamos
Forming negative commands
Negative commands are much simpler because they use the present subjunctive for all persons. Just add no before the verb and use the subjunctive conjugation.
Examples of negative commands
Don’t speak (informal): no hables
Don’t eat (formal): no coma
Don’t go (plural, Spain): no vayáis
Let’s not go: no vayamos
Pronouns with commands
Object pronouns behave differently in affirmative and negative commands. Understanding placement is crucial for natural Spanish.
Affirmative commands: pronouns attach
In affirmative commands, direct, indirect, and reflexive pronouns attach to the end of the verb as a single word. If attaching a pronoun causes the command to have three or more syllables, Spanish adds an accent to keep the original stress.
Examples:
Give it to me (tú): dámelo
Sit down (usted formal): siéntese
Tell us (ustedes): díganos
Negative commands: pronouns precede
In negative commands, pronouns go before the verb and after the word no. They do not attach to the verb.
Examples:
Don’t give it to me: no me lo des
Don’t sit down (formal): no se siente
Don’t tell us: no nos digan
Irregular imperative forms
Several verbs are irregular in the imperative, especially in the tú and usted forms. Some common irregulars include:
Decir: di (tú), diga (usted), decid (vosotros), digan (ustedes)
Hacer: haz (tú), haga (usted), haced (vosotros), hagan (ustedes)
Ir: ve (tú), vaya (usted), id (vosotros), vayan (ustedes)
Ser: sé (tú), sea (usted), sed (vosotros), sean (ustedes)
Poner: pon (tú), ponga (usted), poned (vosotros), pongan (ustedes)
Salir: sal (tú), salga (usted), salid (vosotros), salgan (ustedes)
Venir: ven (tú), venga (usted), venid (vosotros), vengan (ustedes)
Stem-changing verbs
Many stem-changing verbs keep their stem change in the imperative forms that derive from the present subjunctive or present indicative where the change appears. For example, volver: vuelve (tú), vuelva (usted), volved (vosotros), vuelvan (ustedes).
Polite and indirect commands
To be polite, Spanish often uses the usted or ustedes forms. Alternatively, use the phrase por favor before the command and the subjunctive for negative requests. Indirect commands use que plus the subjunctive when addressing a third party via someone else.
Examples and nuance
Could you help me? (formal): ¿Me ayuda?, but more politely use ¿Me ayuda, por favor?> or ¿Me puede ayudar, por favor?> in a question form rather than an imperative.
Tell him to come: Dile que venga. Here que plus the subjunctive marks an indirect command.
Using the imperative for advice and suggestions
The imperative is not only for orders. It frequently expresses advice, suggestions, or simple instructions in everyday conversation.
Common verbs for advice
Use verbs like deber, intentar, probar, and evitar with the imperative to soften advice. For example:
Try to rest: intenta descansar
You should study: debes estudiar (note that deber followed by an infinitive is not imperative but an obligation)
Don’t worry: no te preocupes
Affirmative nosotros commands with pronouns: special case
When attaching pronouns to affirmative nosotros commands, Spanish often changes reflexive nos to se and drops the final s from the verb to avoid double s sounds. This is common with verbs like sentarse and levantarse.
Examples:
Let’s sit down: sentémonos → sentémonos is less common than sentémonos reduced to sentémonos in writing, but the practical form most use is sentémonos or simply sentémonos when clarity is needed. A clearer example: vamos a sentarnos or sentémonos. To avoid confusion, many Spanish speakers prefer vamos a + infinitive for colloquial speech: vamos a sentarnos.
Common pitfalls and tips
Watch for these frequent learner mistakes.
1. Using the infinitive instead of the imperative with pronouns. Incorrect: darme la llave. Correct affirmative command: dámela.
2. Misplacing pronouns in negative commands. Remember they go before the verb: no lo hagas, not no hagas lo.
3. Overusing tú in formal situations. In formal contexts, use usted or ustedes to show respect.
4. Ignoring accent marks when attaching pronouns. Add the accent if the stress changes: cómelo from come + lo becomes cómelo.
Practical examples by situation
Giving directions: Sigue recto y gira a la derecha. Walk through the street like this to be clear and precise.
Offering help: Ven aquí un momento. Use a friendly tone with people you know well.
Making a polite request: Por favor, cóbrese la entrada en la caja. Use por favor and usted when making polite requests to strangers or superiors.
Suggesting an activity: Vayamos al cine esta noche. Use the nosotros command to invite someone.
Regional variations and usage notes
Vos is used in parts of Latin America instead of tú. The imperative for vos differs from tú: hablar → hablá (vos), comer → comé (vos), vivir → viví (vos). For plural commands, most of Latin America uses ustedes, while Spain uses vosotros informally. Choose forms based on the region and the people you speak with.
Quick reference chart (regular verbs)
Here are the regular endings you will use for commands.
Affirmative: tú (-a for -ar, -e for -er/-ir), usted (-e for -ar, -a for -er/-ir), vosotros (-d), nosotros (-emos/-amos), ustedes (-en/-an).
Negative: use present subjunctive for all persons with no before the verb.
Conclusion
Mastering the imperative opens up practical Spanish for everyday interactions, from giving directions to offering help and making polite requests. Focus on learning the regular patterns, memorizing common irregulars, and practicing pronoun placement in both affirmative and negative forms. Pay attention to regional variants like vos and vosotros, and favor polite forms when appropriate. With these tools, you will be more confident making commands, giving advice, and giving clear instructions in Spanish.
