Command forms Tú and Usted

Go out to play

Commands — also often referred to as the “imperative” form of the verb — are used when ordering, or telling someone to do something.

Spanish has both a formal (usted) and an informal (tú) style of speech. This distinction applies to commands.

Informal, or familiar, speech is used among friends, co-workers, relatives, or when we are talking to a child. Formal speech is generally used when you want to be polite or to express respect.

Formal commands are formed the same way as the present subjunctive:

1.    Start with the 1st person singular form of the present indicative.
2.    Then drop the -o ending.
3.    Finally, add the following endings:

-AR verbs:
-e (for Ud.), -en (for Uds.)

-ER and -IR verbs:
-a (for Ud.), -an (for Uds.)

The following examples of formal commands use three regular verbs: hablar, comer, and escribir.

Hable más despacio  Hablen más despacio    Speak more slowly
Coma por favor         Coman por favor        Eat please
Escriba la carta         Escriban la carta        Write the letter

Remember, if the first person singular (yo) form is irregular, that irregularity is carried over into the formation of the formal command.

Tenga un buen viaje  (tener – yo tengo)         Have a good trip
Traiga el dinero           (traer – yo traigo)         Bring the money
Venga conmigo           (venir – yo vengo)        Come with me

This also applies to stem-changing verbs.

Cuénteme su historia (contar – yo cuento)     Tell me your story
Vuelvan pronto          (volver – yo vuelvo)       Return quickly
Pida la cuenta            (pedir – yo pido)                Ask for the bill

As with the present subjunctive, the following verbs are irregular:

(notice how the accent disappears with the addition of another syllable)

Note that affirmative and negative commands use the same verb forms.

Hable         Speak        No hable       Don’t speak
Coma         Eat              No coma       Don’t eat
Escriba      Write        No escriba    Don’t write

Also note that the subject pronouns Ud. and Uds. may or may not be used. Using them adds even more formality or politeness to the command.

Hable        Speak        Hable Ud.    Speak (sir)
Coma        Eat              Coma Ud.    Eat (sir)

While formal speech is generally used when we want to be polite or to express respect. Informal, or familiar, speech is used among friends, co-workers, relatives, or when we are talking to a child.

The affirmative informal (tú) commands are formed the same way as the present indicative Ud. form:

1.    Start with the 1st person singular form of the present indicative.
2.    Then drop the -o ending.
3.    Finally, add the following endings:

-AR verbs:
-a (for tú), -ad (for vosotros)

-ER verbs:
-e (for tú), -ed (for vosotros)

-IR verbs:
-e (for tú), -id (for vosotros)

The following examples of commands use three regular verbs: hablar, comer, and escribir.

Habla más despacio      Hablad más despacio    Speak more slowly
Come por favor               Comed por favor            Eat please
Escribe la carta               Escribid la carta              Write the letter

Note that the negative informal commands use the tú / vosotros form of the present subjunctive.

Habla /Hablad          Speak    No hables / No habléis          Don’t speak
Come / Comed          Eat         No comas / No comáis          Don’t eat
Escribe / Escribid    Write    No escribas / No escribáis   Don’t write

Also note that the subject pronoun tú is not normally used with imperative form.

The following eight verbs have irregular tú/vosotros commands in the affirmative:

Finally, note also that the verb saber does not have a tú form of the imperative. If you want to command somebody to know something you have to use a more complex expression:

Tienes que saber que mañana te voy a poner una denuncia

Curiously, you can command somebody to know something in the plural and in the formal Ud. form.

Sabed que mañana os voy a poner una denuncia
Sepa que mañana le voy a poner una denuncia
Sepan que mañana les voy a poner una denuncia

As a conclusion to this topic, the reflexive -TE, -OS and -SE forms change place according to whether we are dealing with an affirmative or a negative. As a way of example, we shall see the verb IR, which can be reflexive or not:

Notice also that, with the exception of the verb IR as we’ve seen above, when the reflexive -OS is applied to the end of a verb in the informal plural form of the verb, the -D also disappears

¡Miraos en el espejo! ¡Estáis sucísimos! ¡Duchaos ahora mismo! ¡Y afeitaos! Que esta noche es muy especial.
¡Estaos quietos, niños! ¡Poneos la ropa y vestíos! Llegamos tarde.

Photo by: tedb3rd