The imperative mood is generally used in Spanish to give commands or instructions in the affirmative or the negative. We have so far encountered the indicative and the subjunctive moods. The imperative is considered a separate mood in Spanish.
The imperative mood can be used in the singular or plural form and can be formal or informal. When using the imperative mood with the plural, there is only one format for both formal and informal. Thus, we have three cases:
- Singular informal (i.e., tú)
- Singular formal (i.e., usted)
- Plural (i.e., ustedes)
Each of the above can be used in the affirmative or the negative. In addition to these three cases of imperative commands, we will study commands in Spanish using “nosotros,” indirect commands, and commands using the infinitive.
In Spain, the plural informal form “vosotros” can be used. However, we will skip that as it is not used outside of Spain.
Singular Informal Imperative
To give commands to a single person in an informal way, we use the present indicative in the third-person singular form, i.e., “usted,” in the affirmative and the present subjunctive in the second-person singular form, i.e., “tú,” in the negative, for example:
| Cómprame un café. | Buy me a coffee. |
| Camina despacio. | Walk slowly. |
| No me mientas. | Don’t lie to me. |
| No hables rápido. | Don’t speak fast. |
There are eight common irregular verbs in the affirmative singular informal command form.
| Infinitive | Command | Example | |
| ser | sé | Sé cortés. | Be polite. |
| ir | ve | Ve a la escuela. | Go to school. |
| venir | ven | Ven aquí. | Come here. |
| tener | ten | Ten cuidado. | Take caution. |
| decir | di | Di la verdad. | Tell the truth. |
| hacer | haz | Haz la tarea. | Do the homework. |
| poner | pon | Pon el lápiz aquí. | Put the pencil here. |
| salir | sal | Sal con tus amigos. | Go out with your friends. |
Singular Formal Imperative
To give commands to a single person in a formal way, we use the present subjunctive in the third-person singular form in both the affirmative and in the negative; that is, the form used with “usted,” for example:
| Señora, entre desde aquí, por favor. | Ma’am, enter from here, please. |
| Señor, no fume aquí, por favor. | Sir, don’t smoke here, please. |
Plural Imperative
To give commands to a group of people, we use the present subjunctive in the third-person plural form in both the affirmative and in the negative; that is, the form used with “ustedes,” for example:
| Chicos, hagan la tarea. | Boys, do the homework. |
| Señores, no fumen aquí, por favor. | Gentlemen, don’t smoke here, please. |
Commands using “Nosotros”
Similar to the expression “let’s do something” in English, commands using “nosotros” in Spanish express the same idea and can be affirmative or negative. Both use the present subjunctive, for example:
| Hagamos nuestra tarea. | Let’s do our homework. |
| No fumemos. | Let’s not smoke. |
The only exception is “vamos,” which is often used to mean “let’s go” instead of “vayamos” in the affirmative. In the negative, however, “no vayamos” is how you say “let’s not go” in Spanish.
Indirect Commands
Another way to express commands mostly in the affirmative is by using “que” followed by the present subjunctive, for example:
| Que entren. | Let them enter. |
| Que tengas un buen día. | Have a nice day. |
Infinitive Commands
A less polite and less often used form to express commands is using the infinitive, for example:
| Caminar despacio. | Walk slowly. |
| No llorar. | No crying. |
Quiz: Imperative Mood & Giving Commands in Spanish
Next: Expressions of Pain & Illness
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