Michaela Yoo

NomaL:

The imperafre

MOOD Imperative
TIME Refers to the present

KEY PHRASES Any command

STRUCTURE Simple: VERB BASE + VERB ENDING

The imperative deals with a single aspect of the language—giving commands. We

call the imperative a mood rather than a tense, because commands do not vary
according to time as the tenses do. The only time frame involved in a command is
"now," as in "Clean your room now."
Statements in the imperative are direct. There are no qualifiers, such as "I
want you to clean your room" or "You should clean your room." The message is
straightforward, often containing only one word—"Go!" "Stop!" "Look!" "Wait!"
"Listen!"
The understood recipient of any command is "you." Even when admonishing
yourself todo something, you are speaking to yourself as "you" (the tt form in
Spanish). We can, however, also give "we" commands, which in English usually
begin with "let's"—"Let's dance," "Let's eat," "Let's go."
This chapter covers commands in five sections: a section for each of the four
forms of "you" in Spanish (tå, usted, vosotros, and ustedes), and a fifth section
for "we," or nosotros, commands. Verbs for which the affrmative command
("Go!" ) differs from the negative command ("Don't go!" ) in Spanish will be cov-
ered, as will the use of object pronouns with commands.
One final note: Work with the imperative establishes a good foundation for
working with the present subjunctive, which is introduced in the next chapter.

tf commands
Regular affirmafre commands
A regular affrmative command is formed by simply dropping the s from the
second-person singular conjugated form, as follows.

Hablas. You speak. > iHab1a! speak!

Comes. You eat. > iCome! Eat!
Vives. You live. > iVive! Live!

197
 EJERCICIO

19-1
Traducci6n Rewrite the following affirmative commands in Spanish, using tü
commands.

1.
estudia 11. sell! vende
Study!
trabaja paga
2. Work! 12. Pay!

3. Look!
ve 13. Suffer!
sufre
4. Listen!
escucha 14. Count!
conta
5. Read! lee 15. Flyl
vuela
6. Run!
corre 16. Begin!
empieza
7. Walk! camina 17. Think!
piensa
8. Dance!
baila 18. Sleep!
duerme
9. Write! escribe 19. Continue!
continúa
10. Decide! decide 20. Confess! confiesa

Regular negative commands

A regular negative command is formed as follows.
1 Begin with the present tense first-person singular (yo) form of the verb.

2 Remove the -o ending. This is called the "yo stem."

3 For -ar verbs, add -es. For -er and -ir verbs, add -as.

EXAMPLES hablo > habl- > hables

como > com- > comas
escribo > escrib- > escribas

INO hables! Don't speak! iNo compres el pescado! Don't buy the fish!
jNo comas! Don't eat! iNo vendas la casa! Don't sell the house!
INO escribas! Don't write! INO abras la puerta! Don't open the door!

NOTE When the yo form ends in -oy, such as in estar, the -oy is removed to form the "yo stem."

Standard orthographic (spelling) changes

Before the letter e, the following orthographic changes come into play.
c > qu
No tocas el piano. > iNo toques el piano!
3
You don't play the piano. Don't play the piano!

g > gu
No juegas al béisbol. > iNo juegues al béisbol!
You don't play baseball. Don't play baseball!

198 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Spanish Verb Tenses

 No comienzas. > iNo comiences!
You don't begin. Dodt begin!

EJERCICIO

19-2
Traducci6n Rewrite the following negative commands in Spanish, using tü
commands.

1. Don't look!
¡No veas!
2. Don't sing!
¡No cantes!
3. Don't study!
¡No estudias!
4. Don't run! ¡No corras!
5. Don't think!
¡No pienses!
¡No bebas el agua!
6. Don't drink the water!

7. Don't arrive ¡No llegues tarde!

late!

8. Don't practice now!

¡No practiques ahora!
9. Don't pay the ¡No pages la cuenta!
bill!

10. Don't organize the papers!

¡No organices los papeles!
11. Don't read my diary!
¡No leas mi diario!
12. Don't dance on the table! ¡No bailes en la mesa!
13. Don't open the windows!
¡No abras la ventana!
14. Don't admit anything! ¡No admitas nada!
15. Don't believe anything!
¡No creas nada!

Irregular ti commands
There are very few verbs that have irregular commands in the tå form. Listed below are the most
common infinitives for these verbs, with both their afirmative and negative command forms.
INFINITIVE AFFIRMATIVE NEGATIVE

decir di no digas
hacer haz no hagas
ir ve no vayas
poner pon no pongas
salir sal no salgas
ser sé no seas
tener ten no tengas
venir ven no vengas

The imperative 199

 EJERCICIO

19•3
Traducci6n Rewrite the following irregular commands in Spanish, using tü
commands.

1. Put the book here! ¡Pon el libro aqui!

2. Tell the truth! ¡Di la verdad!
3. Make the bed! ¡Haz la cama!
4. Leave the house! ¡Sal la casa!
5. Come to the kitchen!
¡Ven ir la cocina!
6. Be kind! ¡Se amable!
7. Go to the living ¡Va a la cocina!
room!

8. Have the money by tomorrow! ¡Ten el dinero para manana!

9. Don't put the shoes on the table! ¡No pongas las zapatos en la mesa!

10. Don't say anything!

¡No digas nada!
11. Don't make the beds! ¡No hagas las camas!
12. Don't leave now! ¡No salgas ahora!
13. Don't come tomorrow!
¡No vengas manana!
14. Don't be selfish! ¡No seas egoista!
15.
Don't go shopping today! ¡No vayas comprando hoy!

16. Don't have animals in the house! ¡No tengas animales en la casa!

Affirmative commands with object pronouns

With an afirmative command, the object pronoun(s) are attached directly to the end of the verb
in its imperative form.

iEstüdialo! Study it! iHazme un favor! Do me a favor!

iTråemelo! Bring it to me! iDinos el secreto! Tell us the secret!
iDéme el libro! Give me the book! iLevåntate! Stand up!
iDéjame en paz! Leave me alone! iTråigame el libro! Bring me the book!

Note that the original stress pattern is retained for pronunciation. In Spanish words that end with
a vowel, an n, or an s, the natural stress falls on the next-to-last syllable. When the addition of an
object pronoun (or pronouns) would affect the original stress pattern, a written accent is added
so that the stress remains on the originally stressed syllable. For the verb dar, the command form
dé often retains its written accent with an object pronoun attached, although the original stress
would be retained without it.

Habla. He speaks. iHabla! Speak! iHåblame! Speak to me!

Mira. He looks. iMira! Look! Look at them!
iMfralos!
Come. He eats. Come! Eat!
i
iC6melo! Eat it!

200 PRACTICE-MAKES PERFECT Spanish Verb Tenses

 When two object pronouns are involved, remember the RID rule:
Reflexive, Indirect, Direct

A reflexive pronoun precedes an indirect or direct object pronoun, and an indirect object pro-
noun precedes a direct object pronoun. If both the indirect and direct object pronouns begn with
the letter l, the indirect pronoun changes to se, as in the last example below. (This rule for the
order of object pronouns applies for all imperatives—tü, usted, vosotros, ustedes, and nosotros
commands.)
iD{melo! Tell it to me! iC6mpratelo! Buy it for yourself!
iDåmelas! Give them to mel iDåselo! Give it to him!

EJERCICIO

19•4
Traducci6n Rewrite the following afirmatlve commands in Spanish, using tt
commands.

1. Buy it [m.]l ¡Compralo!

2. Sell lt[f.ll ¡Vendela!
3. Sit down!
¡Sentarse!
4. Go to bed! ¡Acostarse!
5. Take a bath!
¡Tomalo!
6. Tell me a story! ¡Cuentamela!
7. Put it here!
¡Ponlas aqui!
8. Go away!
¡Vete!
9. Put them therel
¡Ponlas alli!
10. Leave us alone!
¡Dejanlos solo!
11. Tell it to usl
¡Cuentanoslo!
12. Write it to mel Escribemela!
13. Sing it to herl
!Cantasela!
!Compramelo!
14. Buy it for mel

15. Do it for yourself!

¡Hazlo para ti mismo!

Negative commands with object pronouns

With a negative command, the object pronoun(s) precede the verb in its imperative form. The
object pronoun is independent of the verb. When there are two object pronouns, the RID rule
applies.

iNo me mires! Don't look at me! iNo 10 hagas! Don't do it!

INO le des el dinero! Don't give him the moneyl iNo se 10 digas! Don't tell it to him!
iNo 10 pongas aM! Don't put it there! iNo los compresl Don't buy theml

The imperative 201

 EJERCICIO

19-5
Traducci6n Rewrite the following negative commands in Spanish, using tü
commands.

1. Don't read it ¡No lo leas!

2. Don't drink it ¡No la bebas!
3. Don't kiss it
¡No lo besas!
4. Don't tell me lies!
¡No me digas mentiras!
5. Don't lie to me!
¡No me mientas!
6. Don't go away!
¡No te vayas!
7. Don't stand up!
No te levantas!
8. Don't take a shower! ¡No te banas!
9. Don't go to bed!
¡No te vayas a cama!
10. Don't hate me!
¡No me odies!
11. Don't give it
¡No se la des!
to him!

12. Don't tell it [m.] to them!

¡No se lo digas!
13. Don't sell it [m.] to us!
¡No nos lo vendas!
14. Don't read it [m.] to me!
¡No me lo leas!
15. Don't sing it [f.] to her!
¡No se la cantas!

usted commands
Regular commands
Regular usted commands have a single form for both affrmative and negative commands. They
are formed as follows.

1 Begin with the present tense first-person singular (yo) form of the verb.

2 Remove the -o ending. This is called the "yo stem."

3 For -ar verbs, add -e. For -er and -ir verbs, add -a. (Remember to incorporate the stan-
dard orthographic changes.)

EXAMPLES hablo > habl- > hable

como > com- > coma
escribo > escrib- > escriba

iHab1e! Speak! iPonga! Put! iEsté!

iComa! Eat! iTenga! Have! iDé! Give!

iEscriba! Write! iTraiga! Bring! iComience! Begin!

: if.å

202 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Spanish Verb Tenses

 NOTE When the yo form ends in -oy, such as in estar, the -oy is removed to form the "yo stem."
Both estar and dar have third-person usted command forms that would be identical to other
words with the same spelling. Therefore, the command forms carry an accent mark to distinguish
them (dé, as distinct from de ("of, from"); esté, as distinct from este ("this")).

EJERCICIO

19-6
Traducci6n Rewrite the following regular commands in Spanish, using usted
commands. Assume that the object pronoun "it" is always masculine.

1. Sing!
Cante
2. Sell! Venda
3. Count! Conte
4. Pay!
Pague
5. Run!
corra
Hazlo
7. Play the piano!
Toque el piano
8. Read it!
Leelo
9. Bring it
Traelo aqui
here!

10. Stand up!

Levantate
11. Give it to me! Damelo
12. Tell it to me!
Dimelo
13. Don't tell me a lie! No me digas la mientra
14. Don't wait for us! No te esperas
15. Don't rob the bank! No robes el banco
16. Give me the money! Dame el dinero
17. Sit down! Sientate
18. Put it there!
Ponlo aqui
19. Don't do No lo haces
itl

20. Tell him a story!

Contarle una historia

Irregular commands
There are only three irregular usted commands.

ir iVaya! Go!
saber iSepa! Know!
ser iSea! Be!

The imperative 203

 EJERCICIO

19•7
Traducci6n Rewrite the following irregular commands in Spanish, using usted
commands.

1. Go away! ¡Vete!
2. Know it ¡Conocelo!
3. Be good!
¡Se bueno!
4. Don't go away!
¡No te vayas!
5. Don't be bad ¡No Seas malo!
6. Don't go to the party!
¡No vayas a la fiesta!
7. Know everything for tomorrow! ¡Sepa todo para la manana!
8. Go to the front of the room! ¡Vaya al frente del salon!

ustedes commands
Ustedes commands are nearly identical to usted commands, the only difference being an n added
to the end for the plural form. The same form is used for both affrmative and negative com-
mands. This is true for all verbs, whether regular or irregular.

iHablen! Speak! iVåyanse! Go away!

iNo coman! Don't eat! iSépanlo! Know it!
[Escriban! Write! iSean amables! Be kind!

NOTE The ustedes form is used in both formal and informal situations in Spanish America.

EJERCICIO

19-8
Traducci6n Rewrite the following commands in Spanish, using ustedes commands.

1. Work! ¡Trabajen!
2. Think!
¡Piensen!
3. Don't do that! ¡No hagas eso!
4. Don't leave! ¡No salgan!
5. Sit down!
Sientate!
•6. Put them here!
¡Ponganlos aqui!
7. Don't tell me anything! ¡No me digan nada!
8. Play the piano!
¡Toquen el piano!
9. Play baseball! ¡Juegen beisbol!
10. Bring me the food! ¡Traenme la comida!

11. Tell him the secret!

Cuentanle el secreto!

204 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Spanish Verb Tenses

 Regular negaüve commands
Regular negative vosotros commands are formed as follows.

-ar VERBS Add -éis to the "yo stem."

-er VERBS Add -åis to the "yo stem."
-ir VERBS Add -åis to the "yo stem."
iNo trabajéis! Don't work! iNo me 10 digåis! Don't tell it to me!
iNo bebåis! Don't drink! iNo nos traigåis nada! Don't bring us anything!
iNo escribåis! Don't write! iNo se 10 deis! Don't give it to him!

Note that the negative vosotros commands of ir, saber, and ser mirror that of the usted com-
mands for these verbs.

iNo vayåis conmigo! Don't go with me!

saber iNo sepåis todo! Don't know everything!
ser iNo seåis antipåticos! Don't be mean!

Negative commands for stem-changing -ir verbs

For negative vosotros commands, stem-changing -ir verbs show stem changes of e > i and

pedir iNo pidåis! Don't request! dormir iNo durmåis! Don't sleep!
servir iNo sirvåis! Don't serve! morirse iNo os muråis! Don't die!
seguir iNo sigåis! Don'tfollow! repetir iNo repitåis! Don't repeat!

EJERCICIO

19-10
Traducci6n Rewrite the following negative commands in Spanish, using vosotros
commands.

1. Don't eat!
¡No comais!
2. Don't speak!
¡No hableis!
3. Don't play here!
¡No juegeis aqui!
4. Don't sing! ¡No canteis!
5. Don't sleep in the park!
¡No durmais en el parque!
6. Don't boil the water! No hiervais el agua
¡No te duermais!
7. Don't fall asleep!

8. Don't leave! ¡No salgais!

9. Don't take the money!
¡No tomais el dinero!
No me sigais
10. Don't follow me!

11. Don't go to bed! No te vayais

12. Don't go away! No te vayais a la cama

206 PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT Spanish Verb Tenses

nosoüos commands
Both affrmative and negative nosotros ("we") commands generally translate as "let's" statements
in English: "Let's eat," "Let's dance," "Let's go." Regular nosotros commands are formed as
follows.

I Begin with the present tense first-person singular (yo) form of the verb.

2 Remove the -o ending. This is called the "yo stem."

3 For -ar verbs, add -emos. For -er and -ir verbs, add -amos. (Remember to incorporate the
standard orthographic changes.)

EXAMPLES hablo > habl- > hablemos

como > com- > comamos
escribo > escrib- > escribamos

iHablemos! Let's talk!

iComamos! Let's eat!

iEscribamos! Let's wHtel

NOTE When the yo form ends in -oy, such as in estar, the -oy is removed to form the "yo stem."
This pattern has been presented several times in this chapter. Knowing this pattern will help
greatly in the study of the present subjunctive.

Notable of commands
1 Stem-changing verbs—except stem-changing -ir verbs—do not change in the nosotros
form.

iContemos el dinero! Let's count the moneyl

iPensemosl Let's think!

iMovamos los muebles! Let's move the furniture!

iVolvamos! Let's return!

2 Stem-changing -ir verbs show the following changes in nosotros commands.

o > UeVERBS The o changes to u. EXAMPLE dormir iDurmamos! Let's sleepl

e > le VERBS e changes to i. mentir iMintamos! Let's lie!

e > VERBS
i The e changes to i. pedir iPidamos! Let's ask!

3 Verbs ending with -car, -gar, and -zar make the necessary standard orthographic changes
where needed (c > qu, g > gu, z > c).

iToquemos el piano! Let's play the piano!

iPaguemos la cuenta! Let's pay the bill!

iComencemosl Let's begin!

4 With reflexive verbs, drop the s ofthe conjugated verb before adding nos. Otherwise, add
all object pronouns directly to the end of the conjugated form.

Levantemos + nos = iLevantémonos! Let's stand up!

Sentemos + nos = iSentémonos! Let's sit down!
Acostemos + nos = iAcostémonos! Let's go to bedl

lhe imperative 207

 5 To form a negative nosotros command, just add no before the verb.

iNo trabajemos! Let's not work!

INO volemos! Let's notfly!
iNo nos bafiemos! Let's not take a bath!

EJERCICIO

19-11
Traducc16n Rewrite the following regular commands in Spanish, using nosotros
commands.

1. Let's study!
Estudiemos
2. Let's walk!
Caminemos
3. Let's not study!
No estudiemos
4. Let's not eat! No comamos
Vendamos el carro
5. Let's sell the car!

6. Let's do something!
¡Hagamos algo!
7. Let's not do anything!
¡No hagamos nada!
8. Let's eat lunch!
¡Comamos almuerza!
9. Let's put the dog outside!
¡Pongamos el perro fuera!
10. Let's sing to them!
¡Cantemos a ellos!
11. Let's not lie!
¡No mientamos!
12. Let's not begin nowl
¡No comencemos ahora!
¡Digamos la verdad!
13. Let's tell the truthl

14. Let's
¡No digamos nada!
not say anything!
¡Comprendamos lo!
15. Let's buy it [m.]l

There are only three verbs with irregular nosotros commands (though ir has both reflexive and
nonreflexive forms). Note that ir has different affrmative and negative forms.

ir iVamos! Let's go! INO vayamos! Let's not go!

irse iVåmonos! Let's goaway! INO nos vayamos! Let's notgo away!
saber iSepamos! Let's know! iNo sepamos! Let's not know!
ser iSeamos! Let's bel iNo seamos! Let's not be!

208 PRACNCE MARES PERFECT Spanish Verb Tenses

 EJERCICIO

19-12
Traducci6n Rewrite the following irregular commands in Spanish, using nosotros
commands.

1. Let's know everything!

¡sepamos todo!
2. Let's be kind!
¡Seamos amables!
3. Let's not go to the party! ¡No vayamos a la fiesta!
¡No vayamos esta noche!
4. Let's go away tonight!
5. Let's not be cowards (el cobarde)!
¡No seamos el cobardes!
¡No vayamos ir al cine mañana!
6. Let's go to the movies tomorrow!

7. Let's be honest people!

¡Seamos personas honestos!
8. Let's not go away this afternoon!
¡No vayamos esta tarde!

The imperative 209